Pew: Americans who get news mostly on social media less knowledgeable

A new Pew Research Center analysis of recent surveys finds that U.S. adults who rely mostly on social media for political news tend to be less likely than other news consumers to closely follow major news stories, such as the coronavirus outbreak and the 2020 presidential election. And this group also tends to be less knowledgeable about these topics.

As of late last year, 18% of U.S. adults say they turn most to social media for political and election news. That’s lower than the share who use news websites and apps (25%), but about on par with the percent who say their primary pathway is cable television (16%) or local television (16%), and higher than the shares who turn to three other pathways mentioned in the survey (network TV, radio and print). Three percent said they most often turn to print for political news.

The surveys were conducted between October 2019 and June 2020.

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