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How can trust in news fall while trust in particular outlets stays steady?

Trust in the news as a whole and trust in a named outlet are different questions. The 2026 Digital News Report’s Ireland chapter reports a decline in the first alongside relative stability in the second. Before treating this as contradictory, it helps to examine the wording, who answers each question, and what respondents may understand by news.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What would you need to know before assigning a cause to the change?

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Media and information

What makes a historical source primary?

A diary and a history book stand in different relationships to the past, but neither is automatically beyond question. What counts as a primary source also depends on what you are trying to find out.

3–5 min

What makes a historical source primary?

Media and information3–5 minA diary and a history book stand in different relationships to the past, but neither is automatically beyond question. What counts as a primary source also depends on what you are trying to find out.

Media and information

Following a web claim back to its source

Five webpages repeating the same claim may lead back to one original report. Lateral reading looks beyond an unfamiliar page to investigate its publisher; following links upstream helps reveal where the evidence began.

8–10 min

Following a web claim back to its source

Media and information8–10 minFive webpages repeating the same claim may lead back to one original report. Lateral reading looks beyond an unfamiliar page to investigate its publisher; following links upstream helps reveal where the evidence began.

Media and information

What can a photo’s metadata actually prove?

An image file may carry a date, camera information, or a caption alongside its pixels. Those details can be useful clues, but some can be changed or removed as a file is edited and shared.

4–5 min

What can a photo’s metadata actually prove?

Media and information4–5 minAn image file may carry a date, camera information, or a caption alongside its pixels. Those details can be useful clues, but some can be changed or removed as a file is edited and shared.

How can trust in news fall while trust in particular outlets stays steady? | Speech Topic | speaking.app