According to a survey conducted by the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026, social media has surpassed both television and news sites in terms of global popularity as a news source. The report was published on June 16, 2026 by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford.
This report is based on an online survey done by the Pollsters YouGov of almost 100,000 people in 48 countries earlier this year. t is one of the most closely followed annual studies of global news consumption. The 2026 version of the report is a critical milestone that researchers have been observing for years now.
A Historic Shift in How People Get News
For the first time ever, social media and video network consumption has surpassed all other news sources globally, reaching 54% of all audiences. The use of TV news and of news organizations websites/apps decreased.
Globally, 30% of respondents reported that social media and video platforms were their top source of news, an increase from 22% five years ago. This continues a trend that accelerated during the pandemic, when people turned to online sources more than ever before. It is particularly obvious when referring to the younger generation. Among those aged 18 to 24, 52% said platforms or AI chatbots were their main way of getting news.
The share of people getting news exclusively from platforms, with no direct engagement with traditional news outlets at all, has doubled from 6% to 12% over the past five years.
Which Platforms Are Winning and Which Are Losing
Not all social media platforms are expanding equally as news providers. The study provides statistics related to individual platforms, and there are significant differences in their growth.
The most popular social and video platform in 47 countries is YouTube, as 69% reported using it for any reason, while it is the second-most popular platform for news-related reasons, accounting for 24% of users. TikTok saw the biggest growth in overall usage over the past five years. In total, 37% of respondents in 47 countries use TikTok for anything, up by 22 percentage points, and 12% use it for getting information about recent events, which is more than four times compared to only 1% in 2020. The rise in news consumption among those aged between 18 and 24 was especially big – from 32% in 2021 to 42% in the current year. Instagram comes in second, having gained 11 percentage points to be at the level of 53%, and 23% of people get information from Instagram, as well.
The situation with the use of X is rather different, and the platform lost the most followers in five years. Overall usage went down by 7 percentage points, falling to 17%, and news-related content has been steadily popular with 11% of respondents. Changes since Elon Musk’s acquisition appear to have fragmented its audience, with the platform losing ground among some user segments while remaining influential in politics and breaking news.
As the report mentions, changes made by X forced other users to look for alternatives such as Threads, which may have affected its status as a news platform.
The Rise of Online Creators as News Sources
Among the notable trends identified in the 2026 report is the emergence of online creators as reliable sources of news in different parts of the world. It is a relatively new development, and its implications for how accurately news spreads are significant.
The rising importance of the online video content and the increasing popularity of the creators as an integral component of the news environment are among the three major themes identified in the 2026 report.
The point is obvious. Traditional journalists work in accordance with editorial principles that encourage verification and accuracy, despite all imperfections. Creators’ primary motivators are engagement and profit from advertisements. When those incentives drive news coverage, the end product will reflect less the truth than the number of clicks it generates.
Social networks rely on algorithmic systems that can be easily used by their operators to manipulate users. Online creators’ main motivators are engagement and sponsorships as opposed to traditional values, such as accuracy. Such dynamics may contribute to the development and spreading of misinformation or at least to the biased portrayal of certain issues depending on the audience interest in them.
AI Chatbots Are Entering the News Ecosystem
In addition to this issue, the 2026 study highlights an increasing reliance on news from AI chatbots as an additional information source that further complicates the already complicated information landscape.
About 10% of respondents said they used AI chatbots for news weekly. Although this figure is not impressive by any means, its growth and implications cannot be ignored. For one, AI chatbots have been found to generate misinformation at times, and differently from social media content, their output can appear authoritative and neutral even when it is not.
As such, given how often AI hallucinates and generates inaccurate content, there are grounds for worry about people believing what AI systems are saying without checking their claims against other sources.
According to Jim Egan, lead author of the report, dealing with rapid advances in generative AI technology is the biggest challenge facing news organizations today.
What This Means for the News Industry
The research brings about an uncomfortable truth regarding traditional news media organizations as it shows that their audience is becoming increasingly less engaged in the news offered on news media sites or apps, while simultaneously using social media sites for finding information which cannot be controlled by any algorithmic means they do not manage.
To reach audiences, news organizations need to be active on the platforms where people spend their time. But those platforms control distribution, can change their algorithms without notice, and take a significant share of advertising revenue. This poses challenges for traditional news media outlets because in order to reach audiences, they must engage themselves in social media platforms and become present there. However, distribution is controlled by those platforms, which makes changes at will and affects the advertising revenue share of news organizations. Their audience might be present, but the means to access it remain rented.
For regular news consumers, this implies a simple but uncomfortable truth of staying accurate in one’s knowledge despite being provided with information through means designed to maximize engagement.
FAQs
Q 1: What is the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026?
This is an annual report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism based on online surveying involving almost 100,000 people from 48 countries conducted by pollsters YouGov. It tracks how people consume news and what influences their opinion.
Q 2: What is the biggest finding of the 2026 report?
This year’s report shows that for the first time ever social media and video network consumption has taken the lead and is ahead of any other news consumption channel as the most widely used type. It is now used by 54% of all users.
Q 3: How many people rely mainly on social media for news?
Overall, 30% of the respondents indicated that social media and video networks are their main source of news, up from 22% in five years.
Q 4: Which age group relies most on social media for news?
Amongst 18- to 24-year-olds, 52% reported that their primary means of receiving news is through social media platforms and AI-powered chatbots. In addition, 44% of those aged 25 to 34 also consumed news via social media platforms.
Q 5: Which platforms are growing fastest as news sources?
The most impressive five-year rise in news consumption is seen in TikTok, where news consumption increased from 1% in 2020 to 12% currently. Coming second in terms of impressive growth, Instagram and the most widely used news source besides YouTube at 24%.
Q 6: What is happening to X as a news source?
X witnessed the highest decline in overall usage by 7 percentage points. However, the usage of this platform for news consumption stayed unchanged at 11%.
Q 7: How many people use AI chatbots for news?
Around 10% of people reported to use AI chatbots for consuming news in 2026. That shows a 7% increase in just one year.
Q 8: Why is the rise of creators as news sources a concern?
The rise of creators as news sources is a concern because most often their content stems from a different motivation. They strive for sponsorship and quality and this affects the accuracy and quality of the news.
Q 9: Has the number of people getting news only from social platforms changed?
Yes. In the last 5 years, the number of people who get their news from social media platforms without consuming news from any other traditional news outlets doubled, reaching 12%.
Q 10: Where can I read the full report?
The full Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 is available at reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2026.
