{"id":87859,"date":"2019-10-02T11:02:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T16:02:24","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2024-08-07T15:47:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T19:47:47","slug":"americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans Are Wary of the Role Social Media Sites Play in Delivering the News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As heated debate continues over how social media sites can improve the quality of news on their platforms while enforcing rules fairly, most Americans are pessimistic about these efforts and are highly concerned about several issues when it comes to social media and news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Majorities say that social media companies have too much control over the news on their sites, and that the role social media companies play in delivering the news on their sites results in a worse mix of news for users. At the same time, social media is now a part of the news diet of an increasingly large share of the U.S. population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-01-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e0dbd8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e0dbd8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-01.png?resize=480,482 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-01.png?resize=782,786 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-01.png?resize=836,840 836w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"422\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-01.png?w=836\" alt=\"Many say social media companies have too much control over the news people see \u2026\" class=\"wp-image-108957 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These findings are based on a survey conducted July 8-21, 2019, among 5,107 U.S. adults who are members of Pew Research Center\u2019s American Trends Panel. The study also examines Americans\u2019 perceptions of the biggest problems when it comes to social media and news, the political slant of news posts they see on social media, and which sites they go to for news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Almost all Americans \u2013 about nine-in-ten (88%) \u2013 recognize that social media companies have at least some control over the mix of news people see. And most Americans feel this is a problem: About six-in-ten (62%) say social media companies have too much control over the mix of news that people see on their sites, roughly four times as many as say that they don\u2019t have enough control (15%). Just 21% say that social media companies have the right amount of control over the news people see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The largest social media platforms control the content on their feeds using <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2018\/11\/16\/attitudes-toward-algorithmic-decision-making\/\">computer algorithms<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.twitter.com\/engineering\/en_us\/topics\/insights\/2017\/using-deep-learning-at-scale-in-twitters-timelines.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rank and prioritize posts and other content<\/a> tailored to the interests of each user. These sites allow users to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/371675846332829\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customize these settings<\/a>, though previous research has found that many Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/09\/05\/many-facebook-users-dont-understand-how-the-sites-news-feed-works\/\">feel uncertain<\/a> about why certain posts appear in their news feed on Facebook specifically. Social media companies have also been public about their efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.fb.com\/news\/2019\/04\/tackling-more-false-news-more-quickly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fight<\/a> both false information and <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2018\/06\/27\/twitter-abuse-twitter-trolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fake accounts<\/a> on their sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While social media companies <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.fb.com\/news\/2018\/01\/trusted-sources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">say these efforts<\/a> are meant to make the news experience on their sites better for everyone, most Americans think they just make things worse. A majority (55%) say that the role social media companies play in delivering the news on their sites results in a worse mix of news. Only a small share (15%) say it results in a better mix of news, while about three-in-ten (28%) think their efforts make no real difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-02-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e2dbd9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e2dbd9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-02.png?resize=480,513 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-02.png?resize=782,835 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-02.png?resize=848,906 848w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"449\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-02.png?w=848\" alt=\"Republicans more skeptical about social media companies\u2019 role in the mix of news on their sites\" class=\"wp-image-108961 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While most Americans are pessimistic about the control social media companies have over the news people see, Republicans tend to be more negative than Democrats. Three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say social media companies have too much control over the mix of news that people see, compared with about half (53%) of Democrats and Democratic leaners. More Republicans (66%) than Democrats (49%) also say that these efforts result in a worse mix of news for users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"most-say-that-social-media-companies-favor-certain-types-of-news-organizations\">Most say that social media companies favor certain types of news organizations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-04-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e0dadb\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e0dadb;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-04.png?resize=480,700 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-04.png?resize=782,1141 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-04.png?resize=850,1240 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"613\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-04.png?w=702\" alt=\"One-sided and inaccurate news seen as the biggest problems with news on social media\" class=\"wp-image-108969 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large majority of Americans believe that social media companies favor some news organizations over others. About eight-in-ten U.S. adults (82%) say social media sites treat some news organizations differently than others, about five times the share saying all news organizations are treated the same (16%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Social media companies do have established policies when it comes to publishers, including prioritizing <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.fb.com\/news\/2018\/01\/trusted-sources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">certain news sources<\/a>, banning or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/ryanhatesthis\/facebook-ban-white-nationalist-white-supremacist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">limiting<\/a> others that produce lower-quality content, and using their monetization policies to discourage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/publisher\/1348682518563619\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">particular behaviors<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among those U.S. adults who say social media companies treat some news organizations differently than others, there is broad agreement that they favor three types: those that produce attention-grabbing articles (88%), those with a high number of social media followers (84%) and those whose coverage has a certain political stance (79%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While large social media companies have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-facebook-media\/facebook-to-prioritize-trustworthy-news-based-on-surveys-idUSKBN1F82M2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced initiatives<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/youtube-debuts-plan-to-promote-fund-authoritative-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">favor high-quality news publishers<\/a> in an effort to improve the news on their sites, fewer who say some news organizations are treated differently believe social media companies favor organizations that are well-established (56%), have high reporting standards (34%) or have politically neutral coverage (18%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;americans-are-most-concerned-about-biased-and-inaccurate-news-on-social-media-many-say-the-news-content-they-see-leans-left&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"americans-are-most-concerned-about-biased-and-inaccurate-news-on-social-media-many-say-the-news-content-they-see-leans-left\">Americans are most concerned about biased and inaccurate news on social media; many say the news content they see leans left<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many people \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/442095-trump-laments-social-media-getting-worse-for-conservatives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">including President Donald Trump<\/a> \u2013 have voiced concerns about social media companies potentially censoring the news that people see, whether by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/twitter-faces-250-million-lawsuit-over-allegations-it-shadow-bans-conservatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hiding posts<\/a> or by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2019\/05\/02\/facebook-bans-far-right-alex-jones-1299247\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">banning specific users<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-05-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e1d8d9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e1d8d9;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-05.png?resize=480,533 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-05.png?resize=782,869 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-05.png?resize=848,942 848w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"467\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-05.png?w=848\" alt=\"One-sided and inaccurate news seen as the biggest problems with news on social media\" class=\"wp-image-108973 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in spite of the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2019\/07\/11\/trump-invites-conservative-social-media-personalities-to-white-house-summit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">public discussion<\/a> around potential censorship and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/5\/15\/18626785\/white-house-trump-censorsip-tool-twitter-instagram-facebook-conservative-bias-social-media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">efforts to monitor<\/a> it, Americans are more concerned with the overall low quality of news available on social media sites. Of the seven issues asked about, about half of U.S. adults say that one-sided news (53%) and inaccurate news (51%) are very big problems when it comes to news on social media. Fewer say that censorship of the news (35%) or news organizations or personalities being banned (24%) are very big problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As large majorities say that the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2019\/06\/19\/public-highly-critical-of-state-of-political-discourse-in-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tone of American political debate has become more negative in recent years<\/a>, about a third of U.S. adults (35%) say that uncivil discussions about the news are a very big problem when it comes to news on social media. Additionally, about a quarter (27%) say that the harassment of journalists is a very big problem associated with news on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans and Democrats disagree somewhat about which issues on social media are very big problems, especially when it comes to censorship and harassment. Republicans and Republican leaners are more likely to see censorship of the news as a very big problem on social media (43%) than Democrats and Democratic leaners (30%). Democrats, on the other hand, are about twice as likely as Republicans to say that harassment of journalists is a very big problem (36% vs. 17%). Despite these differences, one-sided news and inaccurate news top the list among both Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-06-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ece9e5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ece9e5;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-06.png?resize=480,394 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-06.png?resize=782,642 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-06.png?resize=848,696 848w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"345\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-06.png?w=848\" alt=\"Social media news consumers say the news posts they see generally lean more liberal than conservative\" class=\"wp-image-108977 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many Americans also say that the news posts they see on social media tend to lean to the left ideologically. Nearly half of social media news consumers (48%) describe the posts about news they see there as liberal or very liberal. A much smaller share \u2013 14% \u2013 say the news posts they see are conservative or very conservative, while 36% say the news they see is moderate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans are more likely to see a liberal lean than Democrats, a plurality of whom describe the news on social media as moderate. Among social media news consumers, Republicans are more likely to say that the news they see leans liberal or very liberal (64%) than are Democrats (37%). And social media news consumers who are conservative Republicans are especially likely to say that the news leans left: 73% describe the news posts they see as liberal or very liberal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-07-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e5ddde\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e5ddde;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-07.png?resize=480,575 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-07.png?resize=626,750 626w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"371\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-07.png?w=626\" alt=\"Getting news from social media sites is an increasingly common experience\" class=\"wp-image-108981 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;share-of-americans-who-get-news-on-social-media-has-recently-increased&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"share-of-americans-who-get-news-on-social-media-has-recently-increased\">Share of Americans who get news on social media has recently increased<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Getting news from social media sites is an increasingly common experience. More than half of U.S. adults get news from social media often or sometimes (55%), up from 47% in 2018. About three-in-ten Americans now get news on social media often (28%), up from 20% in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"facebook-is-the-dominant-social-media-news-source\">Facebook is the dominant social media news source<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-08-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f4eff0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f4eff0;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-08.png?resize=480,732 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-08.png?resize=782,1193 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-08.png?resize=848,1294 848w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"641\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-08.png?w=671\" alt=\"Social media sites as pathways to news\" class=\"wp-image-108986 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Facebook is far and away the social media site Americans use most commonly for news. About half (52%) of all U.S. adults get news there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next most popular social media site for news is YouTube (28% of adults get news there), followed by Twitter (17%) and Instagram (14%). A number of other social media platforms (including LinkedIn, Reddit and Snapchat) have smaller news audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-09-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e4dedf\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e4dedf;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-09.png?resize=480,715 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-09.png?resize=628,936 628w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"462\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-09.png?w=628\" alt=\"Facebook, Twitter, Reddit are the sites with the most news-focused users\" class=\"wp-image-108989 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even though news on Facebook reaches the most Americans, other sites have similarly large portions of their users getting news on their platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with Facebook, Twitter and Reddit stand out as the sites where the highest proportion of users get news \u2013 73% of Facebook\u2019s users do so, as do 71% of Twitter\u2019s and 62% of Reddit\u2019s users. However, because Facebook\u2019s overall pool of users is much larger than those of Twitter or Reddit, far more Americans overall get news on Facebook than on the other two sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other sites studied \u2013 including YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tumblr, WhatsApp and Twitch \u2013 have less of a news focus among their users. Fewer than half of the users on each of these sites use the site for news. Only a small share of users of Twitch \u2013<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/02\/26\/history-of-twitch-gaming-livestreaming-and-youtube.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> a livestreaming website<\/a> \u2013 say they get news on this platform (10%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"demographics-of-american-social-media-news-consumers\">Demographics of American social media news consumers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The makeup of social media sites\u2019 news users differs considerably from one site to the next. For example, white adults make up more than half of news users on Reddit (65%), Facebook (61%), Twitter (58%) and LinkedIn (58%), while there are more nonwhite news users on Snapchat and Instagram. (For most sites, black and Hispanic adults are about equally likely to get news there, but Hispanic adults are twice as likely as black adults to use Snapchat \u2013 36% vs. 18% \u2013 and three times as likely to use Reddit, 15% vs. 5%.) Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram have a higher proportion of women among their news users, while YouTube and Reddit news users are more likely to be men. And about seven-in-ten (69%) of Snapchat\u2019s news consumers are ages 18 to 29, more than any other site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/10\/02\/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news\/pj_2019-09-25_social-media-and-news_0-10-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eae5e6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eae5e6;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-10.png?resize=480,309 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/09\/PJ_2019.09.25_social-media-and-news_0-10.png?resize=782,504 782w, 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