Adults are forgoing traditional media for their news and instead turning to an unlikely source—social media influencers. In fact, a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that about 21 percent of adults get their news from online media personalities.
The survey, which looked at more than 10,000 people in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, found that the numbers were even higher amongst those under 30. In that age group, 37 percent of respondents said they get their news from social media.
Respondents from both sides of the aisle exhibited similar behaviors, explaining in the survey that influencers “helped them better understand current events and civic issues.”
Meanwhile, 70 percent of adults said that the news they get from online personalities “is at least somewhat different from the news they get from other sources.”
“News influencers have emerged as one of the key alternatives to traditional outlets as a news and information source for a lot of people, especially younger folks,” Galen Stocking, the study’s co-author, said in a news release, per NBC News. “And these influencers have really reached new levels of attention and prominence this year amid the presidential election.”
What Is a News Influencer?
As for who these news influencers are, the survey looked at 500 such personalities and more than 28,000 social media accounts. In doing so, it found that 85 percent of news influencers have a presence on X, followed by 50 percent on Instagram and 44 percent on YouTube.
In terms of political leanings, there are three times as many influencers that lean right than left on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. However, on TikTok, Democratic influencers slightly outnumber Republican ones.
Sixty-three percent of influencers are male, and 77 percent have no affiliation or background with a news organization.
Fifty-nine percent of influencers monetize their social media presence, whether through subscriptions, donations, merchandise sales, podcasts, or newsletters.
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