Americans Are Wary of the Role Social Media Sites Play in Delivering the News

Findings from a July 2019 Pew research study:

Majorities say that social media companies have too much control over the news on their sites, and that the role social media companies play in delivering the news on their sites results in a worse mix of news for users. At the same time, social media is now a part of the news diet of an increasingly large share of the US population. Almost all Americans – about nine-in-ten (88%) – recognize that social media companies have at least some control over the mix of news people see. And most Americans feel this is a problem: About six-in-ten (62%) say social media companies have too much control over the mix of news that people see on their sites, roughly four times as many as say that they don’t have enough control (15%). Just 21% say that social media companies have the right amount of control over the news people see. While most Americans are pessimistic about the control social media companies have over the news people see, Republicans tend to be more negative than Democrats. Three-quarters of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say social media companies have too much control over the mix of news that people see, compared with about half (53%) of Democrats and Democratic leaners. More Republicans (66%) than Democrats (49%) also say that these efforts result in a worse mix of news for users.

Facebook is far and away the social media site Americans use most commonly for news. About half (52%) of all US adults get news there. The next most popular social media site for news is YouTube (28% of adults get news there), followed by Twitter (17%) and Instagram (14%). A number of other social media platforms (including LinkedIn, Reddit and Snapchat) have smaller news audiences.