Meta, a key news source for more than 3.5 million Australian adults, faces a decline in public confidence, as revealed by the latest Freshwater Strategy poll, featured exclusively in The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
The poll of 1,044 Australian voters, aged 18+ was conducted online over 12-13 April, offering insights into the demographics of Meta’s user base, and the platform’s standing in terms of public approval within Australia.
Who uses Meta & public approval
Approximately 56% of Adult Australians say that currently use Meta. Usage is slightly higher among women (57%) and older Australians (58%), though broadly similar among most segments of society.
More adult Australians have an unfavourable view of Meta (37%) than favourable (32%).
This sentiment is more pronounced for Mark Zuckerberg, with close to half of Australians (44%) having an unfavourable view of him.
By comparison, Google dominates public approval among the list of comparative organisations tested, with three quarters of Australians (73%) having a favourable view of the organisation, followed by Woolworths (62%), Coles (61%) and Amazon (54%).
While there is a clear age divide on the net approval of Mark Zuckerberg, with older Australians most likely to have an unfavourable view (-31).
While younger Australians have a strongly net favourable view of Uber (+39), older Australians have a net unfavourable view (-7).
By contrast, Google is seen in a highly positive light by all age groups.
Meta’s role in society
Half of Meta users say the platform is the main way they find out what’s going on within their community and social network (50%).
One third of Meta users say the platform is their main way to source current affairs (30%).
Close to half of users agree that Meta is becoming less relevant within their own social network (46%).
Read The Daily Telegraph exclusive, here.
Methodology Note
Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=1,044 eligible voters in Australia, aged 18+ online, between 13-14 April 2024. Margin of Error +/- 3.3%. Data are weighted to be representative Australian of voters.
