Survey: Three in four Chinese get news through microblogs

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 25, 2010 at 11:04 AM

Microblogging has become very popular in China, where 73.5 of Internet users rely on microblogs, such as Twitter, to quickly receive news and information updates, according to a recent survey conducted by the China Youth Daily, Efe reported yesterday.

There is a general trust in the news delivered through these sites, as 56.5 percent of Chinese believe in the information provided by microblogs. However, 20.3 percent considered them to be "unreliable" while 23.2 percent remain uncertain about their credibility, Xinhua News Agency revealed.

Photo Source: Switched.com

"Microblogs can only serve as a supplement to traditional media," Kuan Wenbo, a professor of Journalism at the Renmin University of China, said to the China Youth Daily. For him, the problem with these sites is that is difficult to judge the veracity of the information because anyone can publish information, Xinhua quoted.

The survey had 3,282 respondents from 30 Chinese provinces. According to Efe, China has more Web users than any other country, estimated at 420 million. However, is it also one of the countries that applies some of the strongest Internet censorship.