Far away but close at heart? German and Israeli consumption of news concerning the 2022 Russian–Ukrainian war

Abstract

This study, conducted in Germany and Israel in May 2021, compares German and Israeli news media consumption concerning the Russian–Ukrainian war using a structured online questionnaire. A total of 1,310 and 509 valid questionnaires were completed in Germany and Israel, respectively, examining differences in how news consumers used media to access information. Specifically, objective and subjective proximity to Ukraine and Ukrainians, interest in politics and media perceptions were examined as potential predictors of use patterns of various media. For most variables, Germans and Israelis similarly sought news about the war, especially in mainstream news media. In Israel, objective and subjective proximities to Ukraine were the most significant predictors for consuming mainstream news media, with interest in politics and media trust being less important. In Germany, the latter factors predicted mainstream news media consumption more strongly than ties and subjective proximity, while trust in the mainstream media was not a significant predictor. Finally, the authors found that the lower the trust in mainstream media, the larger the volume of social media consumption about the war.