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https://theconversation.com/trump-fatigue-is-putting-kiwis-off-the-news-with-trust-in-media-still-low-new-report-252714>
"The news media is doing its best to keep everyone up to speed with the pace of
Donald Trump’s radical changes to the world order.
But in Aotearoa New Zealand, where avoiding news is more common than in other
countries, many of us are blocking our ears to it all.
In 2025, “Trump fatigue” is now one of the key reasons 73% of New Zealanders
say they actively avoid the news to some extent. For context, in Finland (where
trust in news is highest), avoidance sits at only 21%.
For our 2025
Trust in News report, we asked New Zealanders why they were
avoiding the news and analysed 749 responses. A couple of quotes give a sense
of what we found:
“Trump, Trump, Trump and no real investigative news.” – Female,
European/Pākehā, aged 55-64, party vote Labour in 2023.
“I actively avoid any news of Donald Trump. If I hear any extreme right-wing
views on the news […] I will turn it off. There is no place for that.” –
Female, European/Pākehā, aged 35-44, party vote National in 2023.
This fatigue appears to cross age, gender and even political boundaries.
Incessant news about the unpredictable United States president had similar
effects on a middle-aged Pākehā woman who voted National, an elderly Māori
woman who voted Labour, and a middle-aged Pākehā who identified as “another
gender” and voted Te Pāti Māori.
Many said Trump-related reporting encouraged them to disengage from news
entirely, or at least selectively avoid US politics.
Other reasons for avoiding the news were familiar to us from earlier research:
the overwhelming negativity, perceived political bias from journalists,
sensationalism and the repetitive nature of the news cycle."
Via Cass M.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
