Social media now a major source of news in us, according to research

Social media and video networks have become a major source of news in the United States, ahead of traditional television channels and news websites, according to research.

More than half (54%) of people receive news from networks such as Facebook, X and YouTube – ahead of TV (50%) and news sites and applications (48%), according to the Reuters Institute.

“The rise of social media and personality-based news is not unique to the United States, but the changes seem to happen faster-with greater impact-as in other countries,” a report is established.

The podcast Joe Rogan was the most visible personality, with almost a quarter (22%) of the population saying they came across news or comments from him in the previous week.

The author of the report, Nick Newman, said the rise of social video and news, managed by a person, “is another significant challenge for traditional publishers.”

The Institute also stressed the tendency for some politicians to give sympathy to online hosts rather than the mainstream interviewers.

It says that populist politicians around the world are “increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism in favor of friendly guerrilla media,” personalities “and” influencing “, which often gain special access, but rarely ask difficult questions, with many involved in the spread of false stories or more.”

Despite their popularity, online influential and personalities were cited as a major source of fake or misleading information by almost half of people worldwide (47%) – putting them on a level with politicians.

The report also states that the use of X for news is “stable or growing in many markets”, with the largest rise in the United States.

He added that since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022, “many more right-wing people, in particular young men, have flown into the net, while some progressive audiences have left or use it less frequently.”

In the United States, the proportion, which identified itself as to the right, tripled after the absorption of Musk.

In the United Kingdom, the right X audience has almost doubled.

Rival nets such as threads, Bluesky and Mastodon “make a small impact worldwide, with a range of 2% or less for news,” the statement said.

Other key findings for news sources:

• Tiktok is the fastest growing social and video network used for news by 17% of people around the world, which has four percentage points last year.
• The use of AI chatbots to get news has grown and is twice as popular among under the 25th year than the population as a whole.
• But most people think that AI will make the news less transparent, accurate and reliable.
• All generations still rewarded reliable brands of accuracy, even if they did not use them as often as they used to be

The report is 14 years old and has surveyed almost 100,000 people in 48 countries.