Media neutrality questioned by Thai citizens, NIDA Poll reveals

A recent public opinion survey conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), shed light on the perceptions of Thai citizens regarding media neutrality. The survey carried out from November 21 to November 24 amongst individuals aged 18 years and older across various regions, education backgrounds, professions and income levels, gathered responses from a total of 1,310 participants. The results revealed fascinating insights.

In terms of Thai media’s news reporting, 38.93% of the respondents believed that Thai media tends to create hype or drama. Following closely, 33.59% felt that the media reports news with a bias, while 30.69% held the view that news is often reported without adequate fact-checking. Interestingly, 30.23% of the respondents indicated that the Thai media reports news for the benefit of their own business organisations.

On the other hand, only 25.34% felt that the Thai media reports news for the benefit of the public, and a mere 21.83% believed that the media reports news impartially.

When it comes to freedom in news reporting, 39.08% of the respondents felt that Thai media has relative freedom in news reporting. However, 28.86% believed that the media enjoys a high degree of freedom, while 24.73% held the view that there is little freedom.

A small percentage of 6.11% believed that there is no freedom at all, and 1.22% responded that they did not know, did not answer, or were not interested.

In terms of neutrality in news presentation, NIDA found that 38.70% of the respondents believed that Thai media is somewhat neutral. However, 32.06% felt that it was not very neutral, while 13.90% believed it to be extremely neutral.

Surprisingly, 12.67% felt that it was not neutral at all, while 2.67% did not know, did not answer, or were not interested, reported Sanook.

This survey brings to light a critical question, “Does freedom of Thai media truly exist in the present era?”

In related news, NIDA recently conducted a poll involving 1,310 respondents aged 18 and above to gauge public sentiment on the upcoming digital wallet distribution scheme. Read more HERE.