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TOPIC 4 / 8

Media use & news habits

Notwithstanding the popularity of WeChat, we wanted to understand how Chinese-Australians engaged with a range of other social media sites, their media habits, levels of trust in media, and usage across different sources of information.

Key Finding
58%
of Chinese-Australians use YouTube daily, making it the most popular social media site

WeChat and YouTube are equally popular among Chinese-Australians, with nearly the same percentage of people who use it several times a day.

QUESTION  Thinking about the social media sites you use... About how often do you visit or use …

  • Several times a day
  • About once a day
  • A few times a week
  • Every few weeks
  • Less often
  • Never
  • Prefer not to say
  1. 0%
  2. 20%
  3. 40%
  4. 60%
  5. 80%
  6. 100%
WeChat
36
11
11
10
15
15
3
YouTube
35
23
20
9
7
4
3
Facebook
31
18
15
13
10
11
Instagram
22
16
16
11
12
21
3
TikTok/Douyin
14
12
13
9
12
37
3
Twitter
11
14
13
12
14
33
3
LINE
7
10
10
8
11
49
4
Weibo
6
10
12
11
21
39
3
Other (please specify)*
4
3
3
6
51
31

*Xiaohongshu or Little Red Book is the most frequently used ‘other’ social media site as determined by ‘several times a day’

WeChat remains frequently used to access English and Chinese-language news but there is a decline in its usage since 2021.

QUESTION  Now thinking about WeChat in particular. Please indicate if you use WeChat often, sometimes or never to get your English/Chinese-language news.

  • Often
  • Sometimes
  • Never
  • Not sure
  • Prefer not to say
  1. 0%
  2. 20%
  3. 40%
  4. 60%
  5. 80%
  6. 100%
Chinese-language news
2020
34
50
16
2021
36
50
14
2022
25
50
19
3
English-language news
2020
13
51
36
2021
15
48
37
2022
11
47
38
3

Figures for this chart are based on 82% of the Chinese-Australian population who indicate they have used WeChat in the following question: “Thinking about the social media sites you use. About how often do you visit or use…"

Increasing numbers of Chinese-Australians say that Australian media reporting about China is fair and balanced.

QUESTION  Overall, would you say Australian media reporting about China is too positive, too negative or fair and balanced?

  • Too positive
  • Fair and balanced
  • Too negative
  • Not sure
  • Prefer not to say
  1. 0%
  2. 20%
  3. 40%
  4. 60%
  5. 80%
  6. 100%
2020
19
31
50
2021
9
33
57
2022
13
42
42

Australian media outlets are most trusted to report news accurately and fairly.

QUESTION  How much do you trust the following sources to report news accurately and fairly?

  • A great deal
  • Somewhat
  • Not very much
  • Not at all
  1. 100%
  2. 80%
  3. 60%
  4. 40%
  5. 20%
  6. 0%
  7. 20%
  8. 40%
  9. 60%
  10. 80%
  11. 100%
English-language media outlets in Australia
2021
7
21
57
14
2022
21
53
23
Chinese-language media outlets in Australia
2021
7
32
53
8
2022
7
29
50
14
Chinese-language media outlets in China
2021
12
32
47
9
2022
13
32
46
9
News that is shared on WeChat Official Accounts
2021
16
35
43
6
2022
17
37
40
6

A quarter of Chinese-Australians say they encountered made-up news during the federal election of 2022.

QUESTION  During the federal election held on Saturday 21 May 2022, did you see any stories about politics or the election that seemed completely made-up news?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Not sure
Yes 27No 68Not sure 5

Two-thirds of Chinese-Australians are confident in recognising made-up news.

QUESTION  How confident are you in your own ability to recognise news that is made-up news?

  • Very confident
  • Somewhat confident
  • Not very confident
  • Not at all confident
  • Not sure
Very confident 10Somewhat confident 54Not very confident 30Not at all confident 4Not sure 3

Chinese-Australians are more likely to stop getting news from a specific outlet and check the facts of news stories in response to the issue of made-up news.

QUESTION  Has the issue of made-up news and information led you to do any of the following?

  • Yes, have done this
  • No, have not done this
  1. 0%
  2. 20%
  3. 40%
  4. 60%
  5. 80%
  6. 100%
Stop getting news from a specific outlet
54
46
Check the facts of news stories yourself
53
47
Change the way you use social media
46
54
Reduce the amount of news you get overall
45
54
Report or flag a story that you think is made-up
34
66
4 / 8
Next Topic
Trust in countries & world leaders
  1. Who did we survey? →
  2. The Australian way of life →
  3. Belonging & community →
  4. Media use & news habits →
  5. Trust in countries & world leaders →
  6. Security & foreign policy →
  7. Foreign interference →
  8. Relations with China & the US →