America's News Influencers: Creators and consumers in the world of news and information
The recent Pew/Knight Initiative study on social media news influencers describes the oversized impact these personalities have on our information ecosystem when one in five consumers regularly tune into these podcasters and show hosts. Seventy-seven percent of the 500 influencers, or commentators, analyzed for the study have no affiliation with a traditional news organization. Shown above includes (clockwise from top left) popular news influencers Harry Sisson, Emily Amick, Tomi Lahren, Alex Jones, Sharon McMahon and Joe Rogan. Photo illustration by The Integrity Project
Pew/Knight Initiative
In the heat of the 2024 election, news influencers seemed to be everywhere. Both Republicans and Democrats credentialed content creators to cover their conventions – and encouraged influencers to share their political messages. Influencers also interviewed the candidates and held fundraisers for them.
But up until now, it has been difficult to get a sense of the size and characteristics of this new wave of news providers.
A unique Pew Research Center study provides a deeper understanding of both the makeup of the new influencer universe and its audience. The project includes an in-depth examination of a sample of 500 popular news influencers and the content they produce, derived from a review of more than 28,000 social media accounts. We also conducted a nationally representative survey of Americans to better understand who regularly gets news from news influencers.
ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM THE INTEGRITY PROJECT
