A growing number of people are selectively avoiding important news stories such as the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, according to a report released this week.

While the majority of people surveyed consume news regularly, 38% said they often or sometimes avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report. About 36%, particularly those under the age of 35, say the news lowers their mood.

Trust in news is also declining and is lowest in the US. On average, 42% of people said they trust most news most of the time; that figure has fallen in almost half the countries in the report and risen in seven...