Crossroads Asia | Society | Central Asia

Where Do Kazakhs Get Their News?

A recent survey dives into the media consumption habits of Kazakhs.

Where do Kazakhs get their news? Social media. But they don’t necessarily trust bloggers, opinion leaders, or influencers. 

The results of a recent survey by the DEMOSCOPE Express Public Opinion Monitoring Bureau, implemented by the MediaNet International Center for Journalism in cooperation with the PAPERLAB Research Center and with the support of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, reveal a complex media consumption landscape shaped by language and age.

More than 45 percent of respondents said they preferred to receive information in Kazakh, and another 31.1 percent in Kazakh and Russian equally. 21.1 percent said they preferred to receive information in Russian. 

Social media was the dominant source of news reported by survey respondents, at 55.9 percent, followed by online sources at 30.6 percent and television at 30.2 percent. 

Diving more deeply into social media, respondents reported spending the most time on Instagram (58 percent), followed by TikTok (39.1 percent), WhatsApp (29 percent), and YouTube (28.1 percent).

But while Kazakhs reported getting their news from social media, they don’t necessarily trust what they read. 62.9 percent of respondents said they “rather do not trust” social media publics and groups. Bloggers and opinion leaders – often native to social media platforms – are also not trusted, with 66.1 percent stating they “rather do not trust” such sources.

What sources do Kazakhs trust? Their relatives, friends, and acquaintances; 54.4 percent said they “rather trust” these sources. Kazakhs also trust state media; 57.4 percent said they “rather trust” state media. Foreign media is not broadly trusted (48.9 percent said they “rather do not trust” foreign media), and Russian media in particular is distrusted, with 60.7 percent responding that they “rather do not trust” such sources.

Across the board, however, a sizable proportion of respondents said it was “difficult” to answer the question of trust in sources of information. This ranged from 11.7 percent unsure how to answer in regard to state media, to 21.2 percent for Russian media, 29.3 percent for foreign media, and 20.4 percent for social media.

The respondents were split on distinguishing reliable information from unreliable information. 33.4 percent said it was “very difficult” or “rather difficult” to do so; 39 percent respondents that it was “rather not difficult” or “not difficult at all.” A full 23 percent replied, “I do not think about it.”

Curiously, 46.9 percent of respondents said they always verify information before sharing it with others. This may be rooted in meeting........

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