Despite boasting strong performance in global democracy rankings, Sweden grapples with impending challenges to its democratic fabric (Lührmann et al., 2019). The escalating prevalence of disinformation within an increasingly polarized media landscape has gained notable attention, spurring a proliferation of research studies and fact-checking initiatives to fortify the democratic society against such threats (Bakir & McStay, 2017; Holt, 2019; Waisbord, 2018; Allcott & Gentzkow, 2021). Simultaneously, young adults (18–25 years) seem to be progressively distancing themselves from conventional news outlets, choosing instead platforms where emotional narratives reign supreme and adherence to journalistic standards is not necessarily a given (Newman et al. 2023). Given the divergent media consumption patterns of young citizens compared to older generations (Boczkowski et al., 2018; Newman et al., 2020), it is crucial to understand this demographic’s conception of news quality. Moreover, the disinformation conundrum is intrinsically linked with contemporary research on democratic innovation, the evolution of representative democracy, and the enhancement of civic practices and forums (Norris, 2011). The challenge of integrating the younger generation into these discussions is a pivotal concern in this discourseThis paper investigates how young citizens construe quality of news and the factors that influence their perceptions of news quality. Despite the abundance of news sources available, young citizens may struggle to distinguish between high-quality news and misinformation. Through qualitative interviews with young citizens (ages 18–25), combined with analysis of biometric lab data (eye-tracking and GSR), we explore the interplay between actual and measurable reactions to pieces of news and stated quality assessments, highlighting key factors that shape their perceptions of news quality, including trust and source credibility, relevance, and format. We find that these factors interact, at times paradoxically, with one another to influence young citizens’ judgments about the quality of news. Our results show that news items that cause more emotional engagement are not necessarily ranked higher in quality than less engaging news items. Our results have implications for news organizations and media literacy education programs, and we suggest areas for future research on news consumption and young citizens.