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Instagram and TikTok users aren’t going for news, Pew finds

Only users of X, formerly Twitter, report regularly getting news from the platform.
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Extra, extra, maybe don’t read all about it. If you’re on TikTok or Instagram, you’re probably not looking for headlines.

Less than half of users on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram regularly visit these platforms for news content, according to Pew Research.

Four in 10 TikTok users say they get their news from TikTok, followed by 37% for Facebook and 30% for Instagram, according to Pew, which surveyed around 10,000 US adults in March.

The lone exception? Elon Musk’s X (fka Twitter), where 50% of users say they regularly get their news from the platform. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of users said that was the reason they use the platform.

TikTok came in second place, with 41% of users reporting turning to the platform for news.

So where are social media users getting their news from, if not from those platforms? About 68% of news consumers on TikTok said they get their news from influencers or celebrities rather than traditional news outlets, the report found, a higher percentage than on other platforms. On Facebook, 85% of users are likely to say they get their news from friends, family, and acquaintances.


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