October 21st, 2022, Janice Fernandes
Over half of consumers across the globe say they use social media for news and entertainment content. So, we decided to dig deeper and find out which social media platforms consumers visit to stay updated.
In a recent poll through YouGov’s new Survey Direct tool we ask consumers in the United States and Great Britain about the type of content they consume on social media and to what extent they trust the news they read there.
Of all the social media platforms, Facebook scores the highest with nearly two thirds of Americans (61%) who frequently read news on the site. And if the share drops slightly, 50% of Britons still look to the platform for news.
While YouTube is the next most popular platform for news in America (37%), Twitter takes the second spot in Britain (40%). Britons are as likely to get their news on YouTube as they are on Instagram (16% both).
The long-established American social networking site Reddit has limited appeal to those seeking news content. While the share is more than one in ten consumers in America (13%), it drops to 8% in Britain. TikTok registers a similar pattern in both markets.
Type of news content consumed
Polling data shows that Americans are most likely to prefer video content (59%) when it comes to news, something borne out by the number of consumers who say they frequent YouTube.
Links to external content like a publication’s web page is how more than half of consumers from both markets tend to consume news (50% US and 56% GB). Images are also a popular form of content with more than two in five consumers from both markets indicating their preference for this format of news (45% US and 47% GB).
While infographics are least popular among Americans (21%), comics/memes are the least popular among Britons (20%).
Do consumers find the news trustworthy?
Data indicates that while many consumers get news from social media platforms, they have low trust in the news that they see on those sites. Fewer than one in ten Americans who get news on social media sites say they trust the news they see there a great deal (8%). The figure is halved among Britons (4%).
Consumers in both markets are most likely to say that they trust news content on social media only a little (41% US and 47% GB).
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Methodology
US:
YouGov polled 1,200 US adults on September 27, 2022. The survey was carried out through YouGov Survey Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, political affiliation, and ethnicity. Results are nationally representative of adults in the United States. Learn more about YouGov Survey Direct.
Great Britain:
YouGov polled 1,200 British adults on September 26, 2022. The survey was carried out through YouGov Survey Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Results are nationally representative of adults in Great Britain. Learn more about YouGov Survey Direct.