Fake News is out according to a Deloitte Australian study, and one big victim is BuzzFeed, who overnight announced the closure of their news operation.

More than 180 people are set to be laid off as the digital media company faces serious financial challenges, including a slump in advertising spending.

Management claim the firm will now focus on delivering news via the HuffPost, which Buzzfeed took over two years ago. This site is also struggling, as consumers researched by Deloitte in Australia claimed they have a problem with news from sites such as Buzzfeed, Google, Facebook and the likes of Huff Post.

Nearly 80% of survey respondents claimed they see ‘fake news’ as a problem in today’s media landscape.

Older generations were significantly more likely to hold this perception, with 85% of 65-75s agreeing, compared to 71% of 18-24s. Half (55%) of our respondents also indicated they find it difficult to differentiate between real and fake news.

Founded in 2006, Buzzfeed was once one of the trend setters in delivering news that is now being seen as ‘fake’.

The firm, which employed more than 1,300 people globally at the end of last year, has shifted away from news, as bringing in ad revenue and audiences became more difficult to find, as consumers moved back to traditional news sources.

Another online news business facing problems is ViceWorld, according to US media.

Many other advertising-reliant companies, including media firms and tech giants such as Facebook’s owner Meta, have been making job cuts in recent months, while investors have been forced to reassess the values of upstart news ventures such as Vice News and Vox Media.

Chief Revenue Officer Edgar Hernandez and Chief Operating Officer Christian Baesler are departing, BuzzFeed say.

Vice Media, which has been looking to sell itself for several months, is discussing shutting down Vice World News if a sale doesn’t materialise in coming weeks, according to people familiar with the situation.

Vice World News, which produces digital and TV news content for international audiences, is a three-year-old joint venture between Vice and Greek broadcaster Antenna Group.