Social Media & the News

Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.

With Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid now officially underway, here are key facts about Truth Social and its users.

Half of 18- to 29-year-olds say they have at least some trust in the information they get from social media sites.

While 38% of U.S. adults say they have heard of Parler, just 1% of Americans regularly get news there.

In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.

The social media sites that journalists use most frequently for their jobs differ from those that the public turns to for news.  

A survey of U.S.-based journalists finds 77% would choose their career all over again, though 57% are highly concerned about future restrictions on press freedom.

Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.

The declining public trust in the news media and polarization of news audiences have profound effects on civic life.

Here is how the average adult Twitter user in the U.S. tweeted about the news in 2021, as well as how these patterns have changed since 2015.