Social media is now U.S. leading news source, study shows

Trust in American mainstream media outlets is at its lowest in five decades, and news consumers have largely turned to social media for information. For the first time, traditional news sources are losing influence in the U.S. as social media overtakes TV as Americans’ top news source.

A recent study by Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism revealed that social media and personality-based news are on the rise in other countries, but these changes are happening especially “faster and with more impact” in the U.S., according to an article by Nieman Lab. With 61% of surveyed Americans using any social/video network to access online news video compared to just 29% who use a news website/app, content creators now play a significant role in the rise of news video consumption across networks.

The study also reveals other notable findings:

• 14% said they would go to social media to fact-check a misleading claim, while 18% would turn to comments from other users.
• CNN, followed by Fox News and BBC News, is the top news outlet that media consumers turn to for fact-checking a misleading statement. For fact-checking brands, Snopes is in the top spot, followed by Factcheck.org and Politifact.
• 15% listen to news podcasts in the U.S. compared to the average 9% of people around the world, higher than 13% who listen to the radio.

But the rise in alternative news sources poses a challenge for online news: Fragmentation of news consumption, where at least 10% of news consumers use six platforms with weekly news: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, X and TikTok.

• Facebook (26%) and YouTube (21%) are the most used social platforms for news.
• TikTok usage in the U.S. has grown exponentially since 2020, with 10% using it for news in 2025. However, compared to the report’s global sample, the fastest growth in TikTok's news consumption was found in Thailand at 49%.
• A small percentage of users turn to Bluesky (2%), Snapchat (3%) and Facebook Messenger (5%) for news and information.

📍 Read More of Nieman Lab's analysis

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