{"id":191510,"date":"2024-11-18T09:45:27","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T14:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=191510"},"modified":"2025-11-04T10:21:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:21:05","slug":"americans-experiences-with-social-media-news-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/11\/18\/americans-experiences-with-social-media-news-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"1. Americans\u2019 experiences with social media news influencers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For our latest survey data about news influencers,\u00a0read the \u201cNews Influencers Fact Sheet.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the wider political and media world has taken notice of news influencers, Americans have begun to incorporate these individuals\u2019 posts into their news habits: About one-in-five (21%) say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This data comes from a survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults conducted in late July and early August 2024. The term \u201cnews influencers\u201d was defined for survey respondents as \u201cindividuals who have a large following on social media and often post about news or political or social issues.\u201d <\/strong>This is similar to how we define this group in our analysis of a sample of 500 news influencers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chapter dives into the attitudes and experiences of Americans who regularly get news from news influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Similar to other patterns of social media use<\/a> and news consumption on social media<\/a>, younger adults are much more likely to get news from news influencers on social media. Nearly four-in-ten Americans ages 18 to 29 (37%) say they regularly get news from news influencers, compared with just 7% of those 65 and older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtually identical shares of Republicans (21%) and Democrats (22%), including independents who lean toward each party, say they regularly get news from news influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White Americans are less likely than other racial or ethnic groups to get news from news influencers. Only 17% of White U.S. adults say they do this, versus higher shares among Hispanic (30%), Asian (29%) and Black adults (27%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, adults with lower incomes are more likely to get news from news influencers. About a quarter of those with lower incomes (26%) do this, compared with 21% of those in the middle-income category and 16% of those with higher incomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What types of information do Americans get from news influencers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is common for Americans who regularly get news from news influencers to see several types of information from these creators. Overwhelming majorities say they get all four types of content asked about in the survey: basic facts (90%), opinions (87%), funny posts (87%) and breaking news (83%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To gauge whether people are seeking out influencers whose opinions align with their own, we asked all Americans who say they get opinions from news influencers whether or not they mostly agree with these opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people who get opinions from news influencers (61%) say they see opinions that they agree and disagree with about equally. Three-in-ten say they mostly see opinions they agree with from news influencers, while just 2% say they mostly disagree with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, a 2023 Pew Research Center study of news and information on podcasts<\/a> found that podcast listeners who hear political opinions are much more likely to say those opinions line up with their own opinions than that they are different (47% vs. 7%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Americans who get news from news influencers see the content as helpful, unique<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Adults who regularly get news from news influencers generally say content from news influencers has helped them better understand current events and civic issues and that it is at least somewhat different from the news they get from other sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Among those who get news from news influencers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n