Social media now main source of news in US, research suggests

Nearly a quarter (22%) of the population reported having seen news or commentary from podcaster Joe Rogan in the past week, making him the most visible personality. The emergence of personality-driven news and social video "represents another significant challenge for traditional publishers," according to Nic Newman, the report's author. Additionally, the institution noted a tendency for some politicians to spend more time with empathetic internet hosts than with traditional interviewers.

It stated that global populist politicians are "increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism in favour of friendly partisan media, 'personalities', and 'influencers' who often get special access but rarely ask difficult questions, with many implicated in spreading false narratives or worse" .

Despite their widespread appeal, over half of respondents globally (47%) cited internet influencers and personalities as a key source of inaccurate or misleading information, ranking them on par with politicians.

The use of X for news is "stable or increasing across many markets," according to the research, with the US seeing the largest increase.

"Many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network since Elon Musk took over in 2022, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently," the report continued.

Following Musk's takeover, the percentage of Americans who identified as right-leaning soared.

Right-wing X audiences have nearly doubled in the UK.

With a reach of 2% or less for news, other networks like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are "making little impact globally," the report said.