Survey: DW most trusted news source for Ukrainian refugees

On behalf of the ECPMF and The JX Fund, Forsa mbH (forsa) conducted the first-ever survey of media usage among Ukrainian refugees in Germany. DW enjoys the highest level of trust among respondents.

Berlin | Solidaritätsaktion mit der Ukraine
Image: Nikita Batalov/DW

According to the recent forsa study entitled "Media consumption of Ukrainian audiences in Germany", Ukrainian refugees living in Germany gave Deutsche Welle has top marks among German media, awarding DW 23%, followed by ARD/Tagesschau (13%) and Spiegel (13%). Deutsche Welle (44%) is also in first place when it comes to the perception of the information offered in the German media landscape, followed by Spiegel (37%) and Bild (18%).

When asked which media they consider to be the most trustworthy, respondents put DW (66%) in first place ahead of Ukrayinska Pravda (61%), the BBC (60%), CNN (59%) and Euronews (58%).

DW's Ukrainian- and Russian-language content has been an important source of information in both languages, especially since Russia's attack on Ukraine. Russian-language programs such as "DW Novosti" and "Zapovednik" are particularly popular on YouTube. In October 2023 alone, DW content in Russian recorded 129.9 million views across all platforms, and 16.1 million views in Ukrainian.

Lutz Kinkel, Managing Director of the ECPMF, emphasized the positive perception of Deutsche Welle among Ukrainian refugees: "The positive assessment of Deutsche Welle is also remarkable; it shows the recognition and reputation of the brand."

The forsa study surveyed a total of 508 people aged 18 and over who had fled to Germany from Ukraine. It was conducted from April 1 to July 17, 2023 using an online survey. Respondents had the option of answering the questions in Ukrainian or Russian.