How Americans Get News on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses a Pew Research Center survey that examined how Americans experience news on four major social media platforms: TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram. The key findings include:

• News consumption varies across the platforms, with Facebook being the most common source and TikTok, X, and Instagram having smaller shares of regular news consumers.
• The reasons users cite for using each platform differ, with X being the only one where a majority say getting news is a major or minor reason.
• Users see different types of news-related content on the platforms, with X standing out for having the highest share of users who see breaking news in real-time.
• News consumers on the platforms get news from different sources, with Facebook and Instagram users more likely to get news from friends/family, while TikTok and X users are more likely to get news from other users they don't know personally.
• Many news consumers across the platforms say they at least sometimes see inaccurate news, with X and Facebook users being the most likely to report this.
• There are partisan differences in views toward the information on some platforms, with Democrats more critical of X and Republicans more critical of Facebook.

🙋 Q&A

[01] News Consumption on Social Media Platforms

1. What are the key differences in news consumption across the four social media platforms studied?

• Facebook is the most common source of news, with 30% of U.S. adults regularly getting news there, compared to smaller shares on Instagram (16%), TikTok (14%), and X (12%).
• However, among users of each platform, X has the highest share (50%) who say they regularly get news there, compared to smaller shares on TikTok (40%), Facebook (37%), and Instagram (30%).

2. What are the main reasons users cite for using each platform?

• X is the only platform where a majority of users (65%) say getting news is a major or minor reason they use the site, including 25% who say it's a major reason.
• Fewer than half of users on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram say getting news is a major or minor reason they use those sites.

3. What types of news-related content do users see on each platform?

• Over two-thirds of users on each platform say they see opinions about current events or funny posts referencing current events.
• X is the only platform where at least three-quarters of users say they see news articles, information about breaking news, and the other types of news-related content asked about.
• Younger users are more likely than older users to see information about breaking news events as they're happening, across the different platforms.

[02] News Sources and Perceptions on Social Media

1. What are the main sources of news that regular news consumers on each platform use?

• Facebook and Instagram news consumers are the most likely to get news from friends, family, and acquaintances.
• Majorities of news consumers on all four platforms say they get news from news outlets and journalists, with X news consumers being the most likely to do so.
• TikTok and Instagram news consumers are more likely to get news from influencers and celebrities compared to the other platforms.

2. How do news consumers perceive the accuracy and influence of news on these platforms?

• Roughly a quarter or more of news consumers on each platform say they extremely or fairly often see news that seems inaccurate, with X and Facebook news consumers being the most likely to report this.
• Majorities of news consumers on all four platforms say the platforms influence which news stories they see to at least some extent, with Facebook and Instagram news consumers being the most likely to say this.
• There are partisan differences, with Democrats more critical of X and Republicans more critical of Facebook in terms of perceived inaccuracy and platform influence.

3. Do news consumers feel the news they get on these platforms is unique or something they would have found elsewhere?

• News consumers on TikTok (35%) and X (29%) are the most likely to say the news they get there is unique and something they wouldn't have found elsewhere.
• Smaller shares of Instagram (21%) and Facebook (14%) news consumers say the same.

4. How often do news consumers feel worn out by the amount of news they see on these platforms?

• Over half of news consumers on Facebook, X, and Instagram at least sometimes feel worn out by the news they see, with around one-in-five on those platforms often feeling this way.
• TikTok news consumers are somewhat less likely to often or sometimes feel worn out by the news.
• There is a partisan divide on X, with Democratic news consumers much more likely than Republican news consumers to often feel worn out by the news.