A survey revealed that most U.S. adults believed AI-written news articles would be a bad thing, with 78 percent of all respondents saying that they felt this way, according to the results of a January 2023 survey. Younger consumers were the least likely to think this - 19 percent said they thought this would be a good thing, compared to just seven percent of their older peers aged 55 years or older.

During a 2025 survey, ** percent of respondents from Nigeria stated that they used social media as a source of news. In comparison, just ** percent of Japanese respondents said the same. Large portions of social media users around the world admit that they do not trust social platforms either as media sources or as a way to get news, and yet they continue to access such networks on a daily basis. Social media: trust and consumption Despite the majority of adults surveyed in each country reporting that they used social networks to keep up to date with news and current affairs, a 2018 study showed that social media is the least trusted news source in the world. Less than ** percent of adults in Europe considered social networks to be trustworthy in this respect, yet more than ** percent of adults in Portugal, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Croatia said that they got their news on social media. What is clear is that we live in an era where social media is such an enormous part of daily life that consumers will still use it in spite of their doubts or reservations. Concerns about fake news and propaganda on social media have not stopped billions of users accessing their favorite networks on a daily basis. Most Millennials in the United States use social media for news every day, and younger consumers in European countries are much more likely to use social networks for national political news than their older peers. Like it or not, reading news on social is fast becoming the norm for younger generations, and this form of news consumption will likely increase further regardless of whether consumers fully trust their chosen network or not.

Introduction

Fake News Statistics: Fake news has become a major problem in today's digital age in recent years. It spreads quickly through social media and other online platforms, often misleading people. Fake news spreads faster than real news, thus creating confusion and mistrust among global people. In 2024, current statistics and trends reveal that many people have encountered fake news online, and many have shared it unknowingly.

Fake news affects public opinion, political decisions, and even relationships. This article helps us understand how widespread it is and helps us address several issues more effectively. Raising awareness and encouraging critical thinking can reduce its impact, in which reliable statistics and research are essential for uncovering the truth and stopping the spread of false information. Everyone plays a role in combating fake news.

The most popular online news brands in the United States as of February 2025 were CNN.com and Fox News online. A study found that 23 percent and 22 percent of respondents to a survey had visited those sites respectively for news in the last week. Also high in the ranking were Yahoo! News and The New York Times online. Support for and trust in both sources varies significantly according to the political affiliation of audiences, particularly among Democrats and Republicans. News and politics A survey revealed that more than ** percent of Republicans reported not trusting The New York Times, whereas The NYT is one of the most trusted news sources among Democrats. The same study found that over ** percent of Democrats did not trust Fox News**. The perceived credibility of major news sources in the United States changes annually and is often influenced by election campaigns and the voting persuasions of the American public. However, whilst most Democrats believe the mass media to be objective in its reporting, very few Republicans feel the same. In 2020, just ** percent of Republicans trusted news organizations to report fully, accurately, and fairly. Trust in news The most trusted news sources in the United States are radio, network news, and newspapers, despite online outlets being used more frequently by younger audiences. Social media and podcasts are considered the least trustworthy news platforms by all American voters, though again, the survey indicated that Republicans are generally more distrusting of mass media news than voters of other political parties.

In 2024, ** percent of respondents to a survey in the United States said that they used Facebook for news. Facebook remains the leading social media network for news consumption among U.S. consumers. In second place was YouTube, with ** percent, marking a jump from the previous year.

A survey held in the United States in early 2023 found that most surveyed adults believe there will be a time where entire news articles are written by artificial intelligence, with 72 percent stating that this was what they expected to happen. Respondents under the age of 55 were marginally surer that solely AI-written news articles will be part of the future of news.

According to a study from April to May 2023, the most common way of consuming local news was via television, with 31.8 percent of respondents saying they watched local news on TV every day. Social media was also a popular option, whereas local news from newspapers and radio were the least popular choices.

Social media is one of the go-to news sources in the United States – over one third of U.S. adults responding to a 2022 survey got their news from social media platforms every day, and a further 22 percent did so a few times or at least once per week. After the surge in social media news consumption in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, daily engagement fell in 2021, but the increase the following year suggests that daily news access on social networks could continue to grow in years to come.

The most popular social sites for news

An annual report surveying U.S. adults from 2019 to 2022 revealed that Facebook was the most popular social network used for news, followed by YouTube. Important to note here though is that TikTok was not included in the survey question for those years, a platform increasingly popular with younger generations. Whilst the share of adults regularly using TikTok for news aged 50 years or above was just five percent, among those aged between 18 and 29 years the figure was over five times higher.

Meanwhile, Twitter is journalists’ preferred social media site, with the share who use Twitter for their job at almost 70 percent. Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter however, some journalists raised concerns about the future of free speech on the platform.

Gen Z and social media news consumption

A 2022 survey found that half of all Gen Z respondents used social media for news every day. Gen Z is driving growth in social media news usage, a trend which will continue if the younger consumers belonging to this generation increase their engagement with news as they age.

According to the results of a global survey held in early 2025, among selected major media markets, consumers in Brazil were the least likely to use print media to get their news, with just *** percent reporting consuming print news compared to ** percent of respondents from India. Meanwhile, news from social media was most popular in South Africa, and TV consumption was highest in Germany.

According to a global survey conducted in 2025, nearly half of X (formerly Twitter) users paid attention to news from mainstream news outlets and journalists, while an equal share engaged with content from creators and personalities, such as celebrities and influencers. This indicates a balanced split in attention between traditional media and individual voices on the platform.

Social media was by far the most popular news platform among 18 to 34-year-olds in the United States, with 47 percent of respondents to a survey held in August 2022 saying that they used social networks for news on a daily basis. By comparison, adults over 65 years old mostly used network news to keep up to date.

The decline of newspapers In the past, the reasons to regularly go out and purchase a print newspaper were many. Used not only for news but also apartment hunting, entertainment, and job searches (among other things), newspapers once served multiple purposes. This is no longer the case, with first television and then the internet taking care of consumer needs once covered by printed papers. Indeed, the paid circulation of daily weekday newspapers in the United States has fallen dramatically since the 1980s with no sign of future improvement.

News consumption habits

A survey on news consumption by gender found that 50 percent of women use either online-only news sites or social media for news each day, and 51 percent of male respondents said the same. Social media was by far the most used daily news platform among U.S. Millennials, and the same was true of Gen Z. One appeal of online news is that it often comes at no cost to the consumer. Paying for news found via digital outlets is not yet commonplace in the United States, with only 21 percent of U.S. consumers responding to a study held in early 2021 reporting having paid for online news content in the last year.

According to data gathered in late 2024, ** percent of adults aged 65 years or over watched news on TV at least sometimes, more than double the share of adults under ** who did the same. Older news consumers were more likely to turn to print and TV than their younger counterparts, although also increased their news consumption via podcasts.

According to a global survey conducted in February 2025, over 40 percent of Facebook users paid attention to news from mainstram news outlets and mainstream journalists on the social network. Additionally, 25 percent reported paying attention to personalities and creators.

According to a global survey held in the first half of 2021, 45 percent of respondents aged 15 to 24 years old used social media to stay updated about news and current affairs, making social media the most used news source among respondents in that age bracket. By contrast, just 17 respondents aged 40 years and older used social networks as a means of obtaining news, preferring to watch TV news. Newspapers were the least popular news source, followed by friends and family.

According to a survey held in the United States in the summer of 2023, almost ** percent of Gen Z adults used social media as their primary source of information about the 2024 presidential election. Gen Z were noticeably the heaviest users of social media news about the election, whereas boomers preferred TV news. Engagement with election news via newspapers was lowest among Gen Z but similar across older adults, and network radio news was overall the least popular information source among all respondents.

************** news channel remained one of the most widely consumed traditional news platforms in India as of 2025, with ** percent of respondents claiming that they watch it every week. Trailing close behind, The Times of India newspaper was the second most opted offline news platform, with ** percent of respondents during that period.

In 2025, Fox News was the most widely used offline news source in the United States, with ** percent of respondents reporting they had watched it in the past week. CNN followed closely at ** percent, while local television news reached ** percent. In contrast, traditional print media saw lower engagement—only ** percent of respondents said they had used regional or local newspapers, and just ***** percent accessed NPR News, including local NPR stations.

Weather Channel had 285.6 million average visitors to its website in the 12 months running to May 2024, making it the leading global news brand worldwide in this respect. Following in second place was the New York Times with 113 million web visitors.

A survey of adults in the United States conducted in early 2024 shows that more than 40 percent of respondents claim to avoid the news at least sometimes, if not often. The largest share of news avoiders fell among the 45-to-54 age group, however 18-to-34-year olds followed suit.

A global study found that ** percent of news avoiders were interested in positive news stories, making this the most interesting type of news for these consumers. News providing solutions or explaining a situation was also popular, whereas big stories of the day were deemed the least interesting.