The Know Daily - Wednesday 25 June 2025

_{Read in 4m 28s ∙ Listening to Sylvan Esso ∙}

The Natural Beauty & The Beast project brings Bodmin Moor’s landscape and legends to life. From storytelling events to farmer-led activities, it’s all about championing local voices and traditions. A grants fund will support volunteers and groups with ideas that bring people together to celebrate the area’s cultural heritage and share it with the next generation.

🗞️ The news landscape right now

A record number of people are avoiding the news, a report by Reuters Institute has found.

What did the report find?
🗞️ Four in ten people now often or sometimes avoid news – the highest ever recorded. Negativity, fatigue, conflict overload, and feeling powerless are the main reasons.
🗞️ Mobile alerts are an important direct channel, yet 79% have no weekly alerts or disable them due to overload. 
🗞️ For the first time in the US, social media has eclipsed TV as the top news source. TikTok leads with the fastest growth worldwide, while YouTube remains dominant in the Global South.

Tell me more.
Social media, video apps, and aggregators now lead as top news sources, outperforming traditional outlets like TV, print, and websites. Globally, social video is consumed by 65% – up from 52% in 2020. Younger audiences increasingly rely on AI chatbots, with 7% using them weekly for news (rising to 15% among under‑25s). Trust in news holds steady at 40%, the same level for three years, though far below its 2020 peak. Meanwhile, 58% globally are concerned about distinguishing real from fake content, especially in the US and Africa.

What’s behind this?
The dominance of smartphones means news consumption is now fragmented through the day, replacing scheduled routines with personal micro-moments. Traditional media's influence is waning as creators, influencers, and podcasters fill the void with personality-led formats. But audiences remain wary with nearly half seeing them as potential misinformation risks. AI has woven deeper into the ecosystem too, with chatbots for news and AI-powered models rising swiftly. However, public sentiment is cautious, with many expecting AI news to be cheaper but also less accurate and trustworthy.

Our takeaway.
For us at The Know, these findings reinforce why we aim to reshape your news experience. Our 5-minute daily digest offers context, calm, and constructive narratives – balancing facts with hopeful insight. We focus on trust and clarity in a fragmented digital age.

Also – a heartfelt thank you to all who have supported us so far. As the report shows, only 10% in the UK pay for their news and by donating to The Know you are helping to keep us a reliable outlet, free from paywalls.

👩‍🏫 Funding futures: The UK government has unveiled a £275m boost to training and apprenticeships, described as the “most transformative skills overhaul in a generation”.

• The bigger story: The funding will help train thousands of skilled workers in defence, engineering, and technology across the UK by 2029. The plan also includes funding for further education providers to upgrade their facilities, equipment and courses. The initiative aims to lift employment rates, driving investment and economic growth across the country.

🚬 Taxing tobacco: Experts have called for larger taxes on cigarettes around the world following a new World Health Organisation report that shows slowing progress on tackling tobacco use. 

🦕 Discovering dinosaurs: Scientists have revealed a new species of dinosaur, which was originally misclassified due to being the size of a dog.

🇬🇧 Bigger backing: Reform UK has taken a lead over Labour, marking the party’s highest-ever share of the vote, according to a recent Ipsos survey. 

🎣  Sustainable solutions: Mauritania is partnering with the EU to push for sustainable fishing under a new agreement that would support food resources and livelihoods.

🚴‍♀️ Wild wheels: An Instagram post by Dame Joan Collins has been praised for calling out dockless e-bikes on the streets of London. 

🧖‍♀️ Sauna spot: This European city has been named as the sauna capital of the world. Anyone up for a spa weekend?

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Trivia answer: A) India produced about 239 million metric tons of milk in 2024, and it mostly comes from water buffaloes not cows.

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