With the imminent release of the provisional report on the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI), the Competition Commission has revealed the results of a survey that investigated how South Africans engage with news across various online platforms.

The Competition Commission embarked on the MDPMI on October 17, 2023, to investigate whether certain market features on digital platforms that distribute news media content impede, distort or restrict competition, undermining the aims of the Competition Act, with material implications for the news media sector in South Africa.

Stakeholders participated in public hearings during March and July.

The provisional report, with initial findings, remedies and recommendations, is now expected to be released this month to allow for sufficient time to receive and incorporate remaining submissions from various stakeholders, including major digital platforms and media publishers and associations.

A representative consumer survey, showing the extensive use of digital platforms and shifts in behaviour driven by the convenience of accessing news online, was undertaken as part of the inquiry’s extensive evidence- gathering process to determine how South Africans engage with news across various online platforms.

The survey reviewed different groups of users by age, location and language, focusing on how they access and consume news across three major digital platform types: social media, search engines and personalised news feeds.

The survey found that 77% of respondents access their news on social media platforms as a main source, with 84% of these respondents using Facebook, followed by 47% using TikTok, 46% using WhatsApp, 45% using YouTube and 30% using X, formerly Twitter.

About 18% of the respondents indicated that they use search engines, such as Google and Bing, as their main platform for news, while a further 4% use search engine personalised feeds, including Google Discover, Google News and Microsoft Start.

According to the survey, 60% to 70% of the respondents consume news across all digital platforms at least once daily, with 28% to 38% actively going to the platforms to look for news.

“Breaking news drives respondents to access their preferred platforms more regularly, spend more time on them and visit with the specific intention of consuming news, rather than spontaneously,” the survey finds, noting that if news was no longer available on the platform, 70% of the respondents would spend less time on their preferred platforms, with 10% indicating they would stop using the platform entirely without news.

Meanwhile, the survey found that, across all platform types, respondents more frequently read the headlines and snippets of a news article, with about half stating that, as the headline and snippet provide sufficient information or the article did not interest them, they do not click through to the article on the news website. About 20% indicated that they do not have time to read the full article.

“Apart from providing enough information, many respondents indicated that headlines and snippets were a convenient way to view news (45%), was time- efficient (38%) and that it means they can avoid having to pay for news (20%),” the survey outlines, noting that for those that do click through to the news articles, they did so more frequently if they had read the headline and snippet.

In terms of community news and news in local languages, 45% of the respondents stated that they spend more time on the platform when community news is available and about 20% spend more time on the platform when news in local languages is available.

“In terms of the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are likely to have on news consumption, a quarter of respondents are already using chatbots frequently for news and 57% indicated that they are likely to use generative AI platforms to access news in the future.”

The survey results further highlight a growing awareness among South Africans of the importance of accurate and reliable news in the current digital environment.

“Most respondents across all platforms indicated that they trust the platform more when there is credible news available, and the majority agreed that the presence of credible news from reputable outlets helps reduce the spread of false information.”

A total of 1 305 consultations were conducted as part of the study, including 10 focus groups with 123 participants and 1 182 surveys.