America’s News Influencers
This study explores the makeup of the social media news influencer universe, including who they are, what content they create and who their audiences are.
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This study explores the makeup of the social media news influencer universe, including who they are, what content they create and who their audiences are.
Today, 37% of all U.S. adults say they have a lot of or some trust in the information that comes from social media sites.
About three-quarters of U.S. adults say they’ve seen inaccurate election news at least somewhat often, and many say it’s hard to tell what’s true.
American TikTok users follow far more pop culture and entertainment accounts than news and politics ones.
The share of adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has grown about fivefold since 2020, from 3% to 17% in 2024.
Social media plays a crucial role in Americans’ news consumption, with about one-third of adults saying they regularly get news on Facebook and YouTube.
How Americans get news has greatly changed in the 21st century. Most now use digital devices for news at least sometimes. Read about the platforms they turn to.
TikTok users under 30 see its impact on democracy more positively than older users, with 45% of this group saying it’s mostly good for American democracy.
X is still more of a news destination than these other platforms, but the vast majority of users on all four see news-related content.
More Americans now prefer to get local news online, while fewer turn to TV or print. And most say local news outlets are important to their community.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, computational social science research and other data-driven research. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.
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