☀️ Happy Thursday! The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here!
In today’s email:
- Featured story: Trump signs executive order to stop “government censorship” on social media
- New from Pew Research Center: A closer look at Americans’ experiences with news on TikTok
- In other news: CNN to lay off hundreds of staffers
- Looking ahead: More than a dozen Fox News alumni to serve in Trump’s second administration
- Chart of the week: TikTok news consumers are just as likely to get news from influencers or celebrities as from the media
🔥 Featured story
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office to immediately stop all “government censorship” and ensure free speech. The order claims that the federal government had previously infringed on free speech rights under the guise of combating misinformation.
Between 2018 and 2023, a growing share of Americans said that the U.S. government should take steps to restrict false information online, even if it limits freedom of information. Overall, the share who expressed this view in 2023 (55%) exceeded the share who said freedom of information should be protected, even if it means false information can be published (42%). There are large differences by political party on this question, with Democrats much more likely to support government restrictions on false information.
Americans also favor more rather than less regulation of Big Tech companies. When asked in a February 2024 survey whether the government should regulate major technology companies more, less or at its current level, 51% said these companies should be regulated more than they are now, versus just 16% who said there should be less regulation. And 31% said the level of regulation should stay the same.
🚨 New from Pew Research Center
TikTok is back online in the U.S. following President Trump’s delay of a federal ban. Our research has documented the site’s rise as an important news source for many Americans. At the same time, relatively few of the TikTok accounts that Americans follow are journalists or news accounts.
Dive into the details about how Americans get news on TikTok in our new roundup.
📬 You’re invited!
Save the date! Pew Research Center is hosting a virtual panel discussion on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, from noon to 1 p.m. EST. Our panelists will discuss influencers as a source of information about current events and civic issues in the U.S. The event is free and open to the public. Register here.
📌 In other news
- CNN to lay off hundreds of employees as it builds out digital products
- Murdoch-owned tabloids apologize to Prince Harry as part of settlement over invasion of privacy
- New FCC chair reinstates complaints against major TV networks for election coverage
- How the Tulsa Local News Initiative aims to expand the city’s local journalism
- Meta attempts to attract TikTok creators to post on Reels with bonuses, deals and free verification
- Inauguration TV viewership was the lowest since 2013
- Bloomberg analysis looks at YouTubers’ impact on young men in the presidential election
📅 Looking ahead
A substantial number of former Fox News hosts, commentators, producers and other personnel – by one count, as many as 19 – are poised to occupy roles in the new Trump administration, raising questions about how the cable news channel will cover the executive branch. This includes Pete Hegseth, the nominee for defense secretary who previously co-hosted Fox & Friends.
Fox News remains one of Americans’ primary sources for political news. Half of U.S. adults say Fox News is either a major (22%) or minor (28%) source of political and election news for them, with Republicans much more likely to say this, according to a Center survey conducted in September 2024. And in an open-ended question on the same survey, Fox News was the most common single outlet that Americans named as their main source of political news, at 13%.
📊 Chart of the week
This week’s chart comes from our new roundup of data on how Americans get news on TikTok.
Among U.S. adults who say they regularly get news on TikTok, just as many say they ever get news on the site from influencers or celebrities (68%) as from news outlets or journalists (67%), according to a March 2024 survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative.
And an even higher share (84%) say they get news from other people they don’t know personally who are not influencers or celebrities, news outlets or journalists, or advocacy or nonprofit organizations.
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by David Kent.
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