This article analyzes the mechanisms by which Russian social media and messaging apps — Telegram, VKontakte, Yandex.Zen, Rutube, and Odnoklassniki — influence information credibility in traditional electronic media, including television and radio broadcasting. The topic’s relevance stems from the large-scale restructuring of the Russian media landscape that followed the ban on Meta in 2022: the redistribution of audience flows in favor of domestic platforms has created a new competitive environment in which traditional media are forced to balance editorial standards with the requirements of algorithmic platforms, which set a fundamentally different pace of information production. The author examines the contradiction between the consistently high reach of traditional electronic media — television reaches over 95% of the population monthly — and the trend of declining audience trust in their content amid the growing popularity of channels lacking editorial control. According to TASS, trust in national television fell from 53% in early 2023 to 33% by 2024 — a decline largely attributed to the period of active growth of the Telegram audience in the country. The theoretical basis of the study is formed by R. Entman’s framing concepts, G. Tuchman’s theory of news construction, and the principles of Russian journalism theory regarding the operationalization of credibility criteria. The article proposes a system of six measurable criteria for media content credibility — source verifiability, factual accuracy, completeness of context, balance of opinions, logical consistency, and transparency of presentation — tested through the author’s structured content analysis of 240 materials from three federal television channels (Channel One, Rossiya-1, NTV) and three radio stations (Vesti FM, Mayak, Kommersant FM) for March-April 2024. Empirical data showed that the criterion of source verifiability was most consistently met (81% on TV, 76% on radio), while a balanced opinion was recorded in only 65% of television and 61% of radio materials. Based on three case studies — rumors about mobilization on Telegram (2022), agenda-setting by YouTube bloggers (2023), and the editorial practices of RIA Novosti — the structural risks of the platform environment for professional journalism were identified. An experimental test of a four-level verification model demonstrated an increase in the overall reliability rate from 68% to 92% with a minimal increase in time. The results are of interest to media business researchers, practicing editors, and specialists in PR and advertising communications.