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    Social Media and News Fact Sheet

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    Social Media and News Fact Sheet
    • Fact Sheet

    Social Media and News Fact Sheet

    Digitalnd social media at least sometimes, up slightly compared with the last few years

    This Pew Research Center fact sheet looks at trends in how people get news from social media sites.

    Why we did this

    As social media continues to play an important role in how Americans get news, we conducted this research to better understand which platforms people turn to for news and how these habits have changed over time.

    How we did this

    For this analysis, we surveyed 5,166 U.S. adults from Aug. 24 to 30, 2026. Everyone who took part in these surveys is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The surveys represent the views of the full U.S. adult population.

    Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.

    News consumption on social media
    % of U.S. adults who say they get news from social media …
    Chart
    Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown. Respondents who do not use the internet did not receive this question; they are included with those who said “Never,” along with those who did not say they get news from digital devices.
    Source: Survey of U.S adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER
    News consumption on social media
    % of U.S. adults who say they get news from social media …
    Year
    Often
    Sometimes
    Rarely
    Never
    2020
    23
    30
    18
    29
    2021
    19
    29
    19
    32
    2022
    17
    33
    20
    29
    2023
    19
    31
    19
    31
    2024
    25
    29
    18
    28
    2025
    21
    32
    19
    27
    2026
    26
    33
    17
    23
    Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown. Respondents who do not use the internet did not receive this question; they are included with those who said “Never,” along with those who did not say they get news from digital devices.
    Source: Survey of U.S adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER

    Facebook and YouTube continue to outpace all other social media sites when it comes to news consumption: 40% of U.S. adults say they regularly get news on Facebook, and 34% say the same about YouTube.

    Smaller shares of Americans regularly get news on
    Note: The other response option was “No, I don’t regularly get news on this.” Only respondents who indicated that they use each site were asked if they regularly get news there.
    Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER
    Social media sites by portion of users who regularly get news there
    % of each social media site’s users who say they regularly get news there
    Facebook
    YouTube
    Instagram
    TikTok
    X (Twitter)
    Reddit
    Nextdoor
    LinkedIn
    WhatsApp
    Rumble
    Truth Social
    Bluesky
    2020
    54
    32
    28
    22
    59
    42
    15
    13
    2021
    47
    30
    27
    29
    55
    39
    14
    14
    2022
    44
    30
    29
    33
    53
    37
    23
    13
    10
    2023
    43
    32
    34
    43
    53
    38
    28
    17
    12
    2024
    48
    37
    40
    52
    59
    33
    27
    14
    16
    48
    57
    2025
    53
    41
    41
    55
    57
    35
    33
    15
    49
    55
    38
    2026
    57
    41
    46
    53
    57
    35
    45
    20
    16
    53
    55
    39
    Note: The other response option was “No, I don’t regularly get news on this.” Only respondents who indicated that they use each site were asked if they regularly get news there.
    Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER


    The people who regularly get news on different social media sites often differ by gender, age and other factors. For example, women are more likely to regularly get news from Facebook and TikTok, while men are more likely to get news from YouTube and X.

    Younger adults are more likely than older people to be regular news consumers on TikTok, Instagram and Reddit. Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans are more likely than White Americans to regularly get news from YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp. And adults without a college degree are more likely than college graduates to get news from Facebook and TikTok.

    Democrats, including independents who lean toward the Democratic Party, are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to get news from Instagram, TikTok and Reddit, while Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to say they get news from Facebook and X. Roughly equal shares of Democrats and Republicans say they regularly get news from YouTube.

    (Read the appendix for demographic profiles and party identification of regular U.S. news consumers on each of these social media platforms.)

    Demographics and party identification of regular social media news consumers in the U.S.
    % of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from …
    Chart
    * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.

    Note: The other response option was “No, I don’t regularly get news on this.” Only respondents who indicated that they use each site were asked if they regularly get news there. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race.
    Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER
    Demographics and party identification of regular social media news consumers in the U.S.
    % of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from …
    Group
    Facebook
    YouTube
    Instagram
    TikTok
    X (Twitter)
    Reddit
    Men
    group1
    33
    41
    21
    15
    15
    12
    Women
    group1
    47
    28
    25
    24
    6
    6
    Ages 18-29
    group2
    40
    39
    43
    39
    18
    18
    30-49
    group2
    49
    38
    28
    25
    11
    12
    50-64
    group2
    39
    33
    15
    11
    10
    3
    65+
    group2
    30
    26
    8
    4
    4
    1
    White
    group3
    38
    27
    16
    14
    9
    8
    Black
    group3
    42
    47
    37
    32
    16
    10
    Hispanic
    group3
    51
    42
    35
    35
    13
    10
    Asian*
    group3
    33
    53
    30
    14
    12
    14
    HS or less
    group4
    46
    36
    23
    25
    10
    6
    Some college
    group4
    43
    36
    23
    21
    11
    9
    College+
    group4
    32
    32
    23
    13
    11
    11
    Rep/Lean Rep
    group5
    43
    35
    20
    15
    16
    8
    Dem/Lean Dem
    group5
    38
    36
    29
    22
    12
    17
    * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.

    Note: The other response option was “No, I don’t regularly get news on this.” Only respondents who indicated that they use each site were asked if they regularly get news there. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race.
    Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER

    Demographics and party identification of regular social media news consumers in the U.S.
    % of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from …
    Chart
    * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.

    Note: The other response option was “No, I don’t regularly get news on this.” Only respondents who indicated that they use each site were asked if they regularly get news there. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race.
    Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER
    Demographics and party identification of regular social media news consumers in the U.S.
    % of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from …
    Group
    Nextdoor
    LinkedIn
    WhatsApp
    Rumble
    Truth Social
    Bluesky
    Men
    group1
    6
    8
    4
    3
    2
    2
    Women
    group1
    10
    5
    5
    1
    2
    1
    Ages 18-29
    group2
    6
    9
    4
    3
    2
    1
    30-49
    group2
    8
    7
    7
    2
    2
    2
    50-64
    group2
    9
    6
    6
    3
    3
    1
    65+
    group2
    9
    3
    3
    1
    2
    1
    White
    group3
    7
    5
    1
    2
    2
    1
    Black
    group3
    11
    8
    9
    2
    1
    1
    Hispanic
    group3
    9
    7
    16
    2
    3
    2
    Asian*
    group3
    11
    14
    10
    1
    2
    1
    HS or less
    group4
    8
    3
    6
    2
    3
    1
    Some college
    group4
    8
    4
    5
    3
    2
    1
    College+
    group4
    8
    11
    4
    1
    1
    2
    Rep/Lean Rep
    group5
    9
    6
    3
    5
    5
    <1“
    Dem/Lean Dem
    group5
    11
    7
    6
    1
    1
    3
    * Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.

    Note: The other response option was “No, I don’t regularly get news on this.” Only respondents who indicated that they use each site were asked if they regularly get news there. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race.
    Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026.
    PEW RESEARCH CENTER


    Find out more

    This fact sheet was compiled by Research Analyst Christopher St. Aubin and Research Assistant Joanne Haner.

    Follow these links for related research:

    Check out our other publications related tosocial media and news.

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