Social Media and News Fact Sheet

Digital sources have become an important part of Americans’ news diets – and social media plays a crucial role, particularly for younger adults. As of 2026, more than half of U.S. adults (59%) say they get news from social media at least sometimes, up slightly compared with the last few years. About this research 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. 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 Instagram (23%) and TikTok (20%). Fewer say they get news on X, formerly known as Twitter (10%), Reddit (9%), Nextdoor (8%), LinkedIn (6%), WhatsApp (5%), Rumble (2%), Truth Social (2%) or Bluesky (1%). News consumption by social media site % of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from … 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 News consumption by social media site % of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from … FacebookYouTubeInstagramTikTokX (Twitter)RedditNextdoorLinkedInWhatsAppRumbleTruth SocialBluesky202036231131564320213122116137432022312513101484432023302616141285532024333220171285452320253835202012965222202640342320109865221 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 Regardless of overall audience size, some social media sites stand out for having a large share of users who get news there. For example, 57% of both X users and Facebook users say they regularly get news there, as do 53% of TikTok users and 46% of Instagram users. The shares of Facebook and Instagram users who report getting news on these sites – both owned by Meta – have risen in recent years. Almost half of users on the community forum app Nextdoor (45%) report regularly getting news there, up from 33% in 2025. 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 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 FacebookYouTubeInstagramTikTokX (Twitter)RedditNextdoorLinkedInWhatsAppRumbleTruth SocialBluesky20205432282259421513202147302729553914142022443029335337231310202343323443533828171220244837405259332714164857202553414155573533154955382026574146535735452016535539 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 … * 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 … GroupFacebookYouTubeInstagramTikTokX (Twitter)RedditMengroup1334121151512Womengroup14728252466Ages 18-29group240394339181830-49group249382825111250-64group23933151110365+group230268441Whitegroup33827161498Blackgroup3424737321610Hispanicgroup3514235351310Asian*group3335330141214HS or lessgroup446362325106Some collegegroup443362321119College+group4323223131111Rep/Lean Repgroup543352015168Dem/Lean Demgroup5383629221217 * 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 … * 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 … GroupNextdoorLinkedInWhatsAppRumbleTruth SocialBlueskyMengroup1684322Womengroup11055121Ages 18-29group269432130-49group287722250-64group296633165+group2933121Whitegroup3751221Blackgroup31189211Hispanicgroup39716232Asian*group3111410121HS or lessgroup4836231Some collegegroup4845321College+group48114112Rep/Lean Repgroup596355<1“Dem/Lean Demgroup51176113 * 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: News Platform Fact Sheet (Oct. 19, 2026) 1 in 5 Americans Regularly Get News on TikTok (Oct. 19, 2026) Local News Fact Sheet (April 14, 2026) Podcasts and News Fact Sheet (Sept. 25, 2025) News Influencers Fact Sheet (Nov. 4, 2025) America’s News Influencers (Nov. 18, 2024) How Americans Get News on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram (June 12, 2024) Where do Americans turn first for information about breaking news? (March 24, 2026) Americans are following the news less closely than they used to (Dec. 3, 2025) Young Adults and the Future of News (Dec. 3, 2025) Many Americans find value in getting news on social media, but concerns about inaccuracy have risen (Feb. 7, 2024) 5 facts about how Americans use Facebook, two decades after its launch (Feb. 2, 2024) About half of TikTok users under 30 say they use it to keep up with politics, news (Aug. 20, 2024) Check out our other publications related to social media and news.