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About one in five Americans admits to getting their news and information from so-called “digital influencers” who are often likely to post on the social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), according to a recent report released by The Pew Research Center.
The results were drawn from a survey of more than 10,000 US adults as well as an analysis of social media posts by influencers. The findings seek to determine how Americans consumed news, specifically during the months leading up to the 2024 Presidential election.
The report found that these influencers mainly posted about topics that include politics and the election, followed by social issues like race and abortion, and international events such as the war in the Middle East.
The influencers feeding America's content and opinions on the topics were mostly male (63%) and 77% had no affiliation with any traditional media outlets.
During the height of the election cycle, both parties often courted influencers to attend and cover their public events. The Democratic and Republican national conventions invited a variety of influencers to attend and promote both the event and the candidates on their respective social platforms.
The Pew Research study examined influencers who talk or post regularly about current events and also have more than 100,000 followers.
They found that 85% of these news influencers use X, but many of them also post on other additional social media pipelines including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Racial minorities, young adults, and adults with a lower income were the groups most likely to source their news primarily from influencers.
Most of the people surveyed said that news influencers helped them understand the news and the state of politics better, while 9% said the influencers only further confused them.
One concern shared by media analysts is that influencers don’t have to abide by editorial standards, potentially leading to the spread of misinformation online.
Roughly 70% of the survey’s respondents said they believe the news they get from social media is different than what they hear elsewhere.
The report notes that TikTok is the only major platform where influencers who identify as liberal outnumber those who are considered conservative.
The Pew study was conducted as part of an initiative in partnership with the Knight Foundation.
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