Most American adults are getting their news from social media overtaking traditional journalism: survey

Americans are getting the majority of their news from social media, according to a new report.Syracuse University’s Center for the Creator Economy found in its latest monthly Flash Report that social media platforms have overtaken traditional TV news as the most frequently cited source of political and election news among adults surveyed.The survey of 1,001 adults found that 59% regularly get their news from social media, while 55% turn to those platforms for political information.Young adults and black Americans were among the groups most likely to rely on social media for news, rather than professional journalists.Taken together, social platforms and independent outlets — including YouTube, X, TikTok, Instagram, podcasts, Substack and independent newsletters — were cited by 60% of respondents, compared with 32% who cited traditional newsrooms, according to the report.Leading the pack — YouTube.The video giant ranks as America’s top individual source for political and election news, capturing 16.5% of readers, narrowly beating broadcast and cable TV news at 16.1% and online news sites at 15.7%.X registered 14%, Facebook followed with 10.8%, TikTok with 10.4%, Instagram at 7.3%, podcasts at 3.5%, Substack or newsletters at 3.4% and LinkedIn coming in last at a lackluster 0.3%.The findings also suggest that audiences increasingly judge news by who delivers it, rather than by traditional credentials.A whopping 61% of Americans reported they trust a well-known independent news creator as much as a well-known professional journalist or a major news organization on political topics.And 67% said who does the reporting matters more than formal journalism credentials.When it comes to correcting mistakes, 86% said public corrections by independent news creators increase their trust in those creators — the strongest trust-related finding cited in the study.But traditional journalists haven’t lost all credibility: 79% of respondents still recognized a meaningful...