Most Americans now get their news from social media, report finds

More than one-fifth of quality consumers surveyed engaged with podcaster Joe Rogan, Reuters Institute says.

Social media and video platforms person eclipsed accepted media arsenic quality sources successful the United States for the archetypal time, a study has found.

Fifth-four percent of surveyed Americans utilized platforms specified arsenic Facebook, YouTube and TikTok for quality during the erstwhile week, up from 27 percent successful 2013, the study by the Reuters Institute showed connected Tuesday.

Only 50 percent relied connected TV, portion 48 percent looked astatine quality websites oregon apps, according to the 2025 Digital News Report.

Young radical drove the shift, with 54 percent of Americans aged 18-24 and fractional of those aged 25-34 choosing societal media and video platforms arsenic their “main” root of news.

The determination towards societal media was strongest successful the US and Brazil, wherever 34 percent and 35 percent of respondents, respectively, described it arsenic their “main” root of news, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and Japan.

Individual online influencers, astir of them right-leaning, are besides reaching ample numbers of quality consumers, the study found.

More than one-fifth of US respondents said they had seen podcaster Joe Rogan sermon the quality during the week pursuing US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, portion 12-14 percent encountered Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens oregon Ben Shapiro, according to the report.

Political commentator Tucker Carlson attends Donald Trump’s inauguration successful Washington, DC, connected January 20, 2025 [Shawn Thew/Pool via Reuters]

The study besides recovered that the alleged “Trump bump” experienced by quality platforms successful 2016 has not carried implicit into his 2nd presidency, with lone societal media and video platforms seeing their audiences rise.

Across astir 50 countries surveyed, 4 successful 10 respondents said they trusted astir quality “most of the time,” a fig that has been unchangeable for the past 3 years, according to the report.

Trust was highest successful Nigeria, wherever 68 percent expressed confidence, followed by Finland, Kenya, Denmark, South Africa and Thailand.

Respondents successful Greece and Hungary had the slightest trust, with conscionable 22 percent believing the news, followed by those successful Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.

Nic Newman, the report’s author, said the declining power of accepted media has been a boon for politicians, who are “increasingly capable to bypass accepted journalism successful favour of affable partisan media, ‘personalities’, and ‘influencers’ who often get peculiar entree but seldom inquire hard questions”.

“These trends are progressively pronounced successful the United States nether Donald Trump, arsenic good arsenic parts of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, but are moving much dilatory elsewhere, particularly wherever quality brands support a beardown transportation with audiences,” Newman said successful an overview of the report.

“In countries wherever property state is nether threat, alternate ecosystems besides connection opportunities, astatine their best, to bring caller perspectives and situation repressive governments,” Newman said.

“But astatine the aforesaid time, these changes whitethorn beryllium contributing to rising governmental polarisation and a coarsening statement online.”