For Americans who use X – about a quarter of adults, as of last year – it’s a place people turn to stay entertained, connect with others and keep up with what’s going on.
At the same time, it’s a platform where change has been a constant, including Elon Musk’s rebranding of it from Twitter to X. Throughout the changes, X has been at the center of national debates surrounding free speech, political discussion and democracy itself.
Our survey took a deep dive into users’ experiences and views of X. Among the key findings:
- Politics is part of life on X. About three-quarters of users (74%) see at least some political content on the platform, and a majority (59%) say keeping up with politics or political issues is a reason they use it.
- Republicans who post about politics there are especially likely to say a major reason they do so is that their views feel welcome. They’re more likely than Democrats who post about politics on X to say this is the case (54% vs. 33%). (Throughout this report, references to Republicans and Democrats include independents who lean toward each party.)
- More users say X is mostly good (38%) than bad (27%) for democracy, but there are deep partisan divides on this topic. The share saying it’s mostly good has risen since our last survey. This reflects growing positivity among Republican users.
- Despite these divides, there’s bipartisan agreement that people feel free to express their political views on X. Most Republican (89%) and Democratic (86%) users say this.
Why and how people use X
Our survey explored the “why” and “what” behind how people use the platform.
Reasons for using X
We asked X users about seven reasons they might use it. Among the key takeaways:
X is entertaining. Most users say this is a reason they’re on it, including more than four-in-ten who say this is a major reason.
Many use it to get news or keep up with politics and political issues. And about a quarter each say this is a major reason.
Connection and keeping up with sports or pop culture round out the most commonly cited reasons for using X. Majorities of users cite each as a reason for using X. Those shares each include roughly a quarter who say they’re major reasons for being on the platform.
Related: News as a reason people use X
By party
Republican X users are more likely than their Democratic peers to say a major reason they use X is to keep up with politics (29% vs. 20%) or to get news (29% vs. 21%).
Seeing politics on X
Seeing politics on X is commonplace. The vast majority of X users (74%) come across at least some political content as they browse the site. This includes 29% who say all or most of what they see is about politics or political issues, and 45% who say that’s some of what they see.
But not everyone sees politics: 18% see only a little of this type of content, and 8% see none at all.
By party
Republican users (75%) are just as likely as Democratic users (73%) to see at least some politics on X.
Posting about politics on X
Even though the majority of X users see political content there, fewer post or share it themselves.
Just 14% of X users say they share at least some things about politics or political issues there.
About one-in-five say they post, but that little (9%) or none (11%) of it is about politics. By far the largest share – 65% – don’t post on the platform at all.
By party
Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to say they post all, or mostly, political content (9% vs. 5%).
Why do people post about politics on X?
In total, 24% of X users say they post at least a little about politics there. We followed up by asking them about four specific reasons why they might do so.
Among X users who post about politics:
- Many say their views being welcome on X (76%) and feeling it’s something they should do (74%) are reasons they post about political topics.
- 67% say it’s because politics belongs there.
- 58% say a major or minor reason they post about politics is that it’s a place they can make a difference.
By party
Republicans and Democrats cite similar major reasons why they post about politics on X, with one exception: it being a welcoming environment. Some 54% of Republican X users who post about politics say this is a major reason, versus 33% of their Democratic counterparts.
Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely than Republicans to cite this as a minor reason (38% vs. 26%).
Why don’t people post about politics on X?
Next, we asked the 11% of X users who say they post, but not about politics, about four potential reasons why they might not do this.
They’re more likely to say it’s because it won’t make a difference than to say politics doesn’t belong there.
Among X users who post, but never about politics:
- 51% say it’s because posting there won’t make a difference, including 29% who say that’s a major reason they don’t post about politics.
- Similarly, roughly four-in-ten each say a reason is avoiding criticism or harassment (42%) or not caring about politics (41%).
- About a third (36%) of those who don’t post about politics cite politics not belonging there as a reason.
How X users see its climate and impact
Politics plays a prominent role in X users’ day-to-day experiences – as well as in the platform’s policies and decisions. It’s been in the spotlight for everything from reinstating banned users to advocating for free speech on the platform.
In this light, we wanted to understand how X users themselves feel about the platform’s impact and environment – both the good and the bad.
X and American democracy
Overall, more X users say the platform is mostly good for democracy (38%) than say it is mostly bad (27%); 34% say it has no impact.
The share saying it’s good has ticked up since 2023 and is now roughly on par with when we first asked about this in 2021 – before Musk bought the platform.
By party
Views of X and democracy are deeply partisan. Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to say it’s good for democracy (53% vs. 26%). Democrats are three times as likely as Republicans to say it’s bad (39% vs. 13%).
These partisan divides have shifted dramatically over the past several years. Today, 53% of Republican users say X is mostly good for American democracy, compared with 43% who said so a year ago and just 17% in 2021.
At the same time, Democratic users have become more likely to deem the site bad for democracy since the question was first asked in 2021. That share has risen from 28% to 39% today.
Free expression on X
X has been in the national – and even global – spotlight recently over Musk’s pledges related to users’ speech. But do users view it as a place where politics can freely be shared?
Most X users (87%) say so – they think people feel free to openly express their political views on the platform. Only 12% think people don’t feel free to do so on X.
By party
Similar shares of Republican (89%) and Democratic (86%) users say people generally feel free to express their political views.
Political content users see on X
Asked how the political content they see on X leans, users hold mixed views. About one-in-five each say it leans mostly liberal (19%) or mostly conservative (18%).
The largest share says it doesn’t lean either way (31%). About a quarter (23%) are not sure, and 8% don’t see anything about politics or political issues.
By party
There are minor differences in views by party. Democratic users are somewhat more likely than their GOP peers to say what they see leans liberal (22% vs. 16%). Republican users, on the other hand, are more likely to say it doesn’t lean either way (37% vs. 26%).
Harassment on X
About three-quarters of users (73%) say people getting harassed is a problem on X, including 32% who say it’s a major problem.
By party
There are sizable partisan gaps in views of this issue’s extent. Democratic users are far more likely than Republican users to say harassment is a major problem on X (48% vs. 15%).
By contrast, 40% of Republicans who use the site say harassment is not a problem on X, compared with 13% of their Democratic counterparts.
