National newscast trusted by 44% of Ukrainians, Zelenskyy leads public figures list

The information provided by the national 24/7 joint newscast is trusted by 44% of residents of Ukraine’s frontline areas. Telegram channels, international media and online media are also leading the list of most trusted information sources.

Source: a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in August

Details: In terms of trust (regardless of usage), the leaders are Telegram channels (51% somewhat or completely trust them, with only 8% who do not), international media (47% vs. 8%) and Ukrainian online media (45% vs. 11%). 

The national 24/7 joint newscast is trusted by 44% against 18% who do not trust it.

Radio is also in the top five sources in terms of trust, with 37% trusting it and 9% not trusting it. 

TikTok has the lowest trust scores, with 14% trusting it and 31% distrusting it (it is the only source on the list that has a negative (and quite significant) ratio of trust and distrust; at the same time, 40% of respondents under 25 years old trust it).

When asked openly about public figures who provide reliable information, 37% named President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, holds second place (18%). 

He is followed by blogger Oleksii Arestovych (10%), volunteer Serhii Prytula (9%) and Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (9%). Other people were named less frequently.

For reference: KIIS conducted a survey of residents of 10 frontline regions on 7-12 August 2023. It was commissioned by the Communications Transformation in Ukraine project, a USAID programme implemented by Chemonics International in Ukraine. The research was supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

A total of 1,000 interviews were conducted online with adults living in the frontline regions. 

Under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and not considering the design effect and the specifics of the research method used) did not exceed 3.3%. At the same time, additional systematic sampling errors may occur in times of war. The peculiarities of the online interview method should also be taken into account.

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