As the wider political and media world has taken notice of news influencers, Americans have begun to incorporate these individuals’ posts into their news habits: About one-in-five (21%) say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media.
This data comes from a survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults conducted in late July and early August 2024. The term “news influencers” was defined for survey respondents as “individuals who have a large following on social media and often post about news or political or social issues.” This is similar to how we define this group in our analysis of a sample of 500 news influencers.
This chapter dives into the attitudes and experiences of Americans who regularly get news from news influencers.
Similar to other patterns of social media use and news consumption on social media, younger adults are much more likely to get news from news influencers on social media. Nearly four-in-ten Americans ages 18 to 29 (37%) say they regularly get news from news influencers, compared with just 7% of those 65 and older.
Virtually identical shares of Republicans (21%) and Democrats (22%), including independents who lean toward each party, say they regularly get news from news influencers.
White Americans are less likely than other racial or ethnic groups to get news from news influencers. Only 17% of White U.S. adults say they do this, versus higher shares among Hispanic (30%), Asian (29%) and Black adults (27%).
In addition, adults with lower incomes are more likely to get news from news influencers. About a quarter of those with lower incomes (26%) do this, compared with 21% of those in the middle-income category and 16% of those with higher incomes.
What types of information do Americans get from news influencers?
It is common for Americans who regularly get news from news influencers to see several types of information from these creators. Overwhelming majorities say they get all four types of content asked about in the survey: basic facts (90%), opinions (87%), funny posts (87%) and breaking news (83%).
To gauge whether people are seeking out influencers whose opinions align with their own, we asked all Americans who say they get opinions from news influencers whether or not they mostly agree with these opinions.
Most people who get opinions from news influencers (61%) say they see opinions that they agree and disagree with about equally. Three-in-ten say they mostly see opinions they agree with from news influencers, while just 2% say they mostly disagree with them.
Similarly, a 2023 Pew Research Center study of news and information on podcasts found that podcast listeners who hear political opinions are much more likely to say those opinions line up with their own opinions than that they are different (47% vs. 7%).
Most Americans who get news from news influencers see the content as helpful, unique
Adults who regularly get news from news influencers generally say content from news influencers has helped them better understand current events and civic issues and that it is at least somewhat different from the news they get from other sources.
Among those who get news from news influencers:
- 65% say news influencers on social media have helped them better understand current events and civic issues, while just 9% say they have made them more confused. About a quarter (26%) say they have not made much of a difference.
- Seven-in-ten say the news they get from news influencers is at least somewhat different from the news they get from other sources, including roughly a quarter who say it is extremely or very different (23%). About three-in-ten (29%) say news from news influencers is not too or not at all different from news from other sources.
Americans’ connections with news influencers
Among U.S. adults who regularly get news from news influencers, 58% say they follow or subscribe to at least one news influencer on social media. The substantial share who do not follow an influencer may be a reflection of algorithmic social media feeds that show people posts from accounts they do not follow.
A smaller share of those who get news from news influencers (31%) say they feel personally connected to one of these content creators. When asked if there are any news influencers they feel they have a personal connection to, about seven-in-ten say no (69%).
Political ideology linked with differing views on news influencers
While Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party get news from news influencers at the same rate as Democrats and Democratic leaners, Republicans who get news from news influencers are more inclined to say this news is extremely or very different from the news they get from other sources (28% vs. 19%).
On the other hand, Democrats who get news from news influencers are slightly more likely than Republicans to say it helps them better understand current events and civic issues (69% vs. 62%).
People at either end of the ideological spectrum are particularly likely to express this view. Among those who regularly get news from influencers, Republicans who identify as conservative are more inclined than those who say they are moderate or liberal to say news influencers have helped them better understand current events and civic issues (67% vs. 55%). And liberal Democrats are more likely than moderate or conservative Democrats to say this (76% vs. 60%).
Among those who get opinions from news influencers, similar shares of Republicans (31%) and Democrats (32%) say they mostly get opinions they agree with.
Again, however, those at the ends of the ideological spectrum are more likely to express this view. Among those who regularly get news from news influencers and say opinions are one thing they see, identical shares of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats (42% each) say they mostly see opinions they agree with.
By contrast, much smaller shares of conservative or moderate Democrats (20%) and moderate or liberal Republicans (13%) say this is the case. Instead, these groups are more likely to say they agree and disagree about equally with the opinions they see from news influencers.
Young adults more likely to see content from news influencers as helpful, unique
Young adults are much more likely than those in older age groups to get news from news influencers. And among those who do get news from news influencers on social media, young people also are more likely to say the information they get from news influencers is helpful and unique.
- Younger people are more likely to say news influencers help them better understand current events and civic issues. Among those who get news from influencers, almost three-quarters of adults ages 18 to 29 (72%) say this about news influencers on social media, compared with about half of those 65 and older (53%).
- Younger adults are also more likely to say that the news they get from news influencers is at least somewhat different from the news from other sources. Again looking only at those who regularly get news from news influencers on social media, three-quarters of those ages 18 to 29 say the news they get is at least somewhat different from news they get from other sources. A somewhat smaller share of those 65 and older (65%) say the same.
