Social media now main source of news in US, research suggests
Social media and video networks have become the main source of news in the US, overtaking traditional TV channels and news websites, research suggests.More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube - overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%), according to the Reuters Institute."The rise of social media and personality-based news is not unique to the United States, but changes seem to be happening faster – and with more impact – than in other countries," a report found.Podcaster Joe Rogan was the most widely-seen personality, with almost a quarter (22%) of the population saying they had come across news or commentary from him in the previous week.
The report's author Nic Newman said the rise of social video and personality-driven news "represents another significant challenge for traditional publishers".The institute also highlighted a trend for some politicians to give their time to sympathetic online hosts rather than mainstream interviewers.It said populist politicians around the world are "increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism in favour of friendly partisan media, 'personalities', and 'influencers' who often get special access but rarely ask difficult questions, with many implicated in spreading false narratives or worse".Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities were named as a major source of false or misleading information by almost half of people worldwide (47%) - putting them level with politicians.The report also stated that usage of X for news is "stable or increasing across many markets", with the biggest uplift in the US.It added that since Elon Musk took over the network in 2022, "many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently". In the US, the proportion that self-identified as being on the right tripled after Musk's takeover. In the UK, right-wing X audiences have almost doubled.Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon are "making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news", it stated.
Other key findings about news sources:TikTok is the fastest-growing social and video network, used for news by 17% of people around the world, up four percentage points since last year.The use of AI chatbots to get the news is on the rise, and is twice as popular among under-25s than the population as a whole.But most people think AI will make news less transparent, accurate and trustworthy.All generations still prize trusted brands with a track record for accuracy, even if they don't use them as often as they once didThe report is in its 14th year and surveyed almost 100,000 people in 48 countries.
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They found her in a car with her children, along with two handguns, about $10,000 in cash and passports, the affidavit said. Boelter had apparently urged her to leave. 'Words are not going to explain how sorry I am,' he said in another message. 'there's gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don't want you guys around.' He also reached out to two roommates with whom he sometimes stayed in Minneapolis. 'May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way,' Boelter wrote, according to Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years. Friends said Boelter had been struggling financially in recent years. In 2023, he began working for a transport service for a funeral home, mostly picking up bodies from assisted-living facilities. That job ended about four months ago. Later Saturday morning, Brooklyn Park Within hours of the Hortman shooting, hundreds of police officers, sheriff deputies and FBI agents were roaming the streets near the scene. Cellphones in the area pinged an alert, urging people near the Hortmans' neighborhood to take shelter. 'Police are still looking for a suspect in multiple targeted shootings who is armed and dangerous," the alert said, giving a description of Boelter. 'Do not approach.' A series of roadblocks was also set up, with law enforcement searching every vehicle as it left, fearing Boelter could try to escape by hiding in a car. About 7 a.m., bus stop in north Minneapolis Carrying two duffel bags, Boelter approached a man he didn't know at a Minneapolis bus stop roughly 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the Hortmans' home and asked to purchase his electric bike. After taking the bus together to the man's home, Boelter agreed to buy the bike and the man's Buick sedan. They then drove the Buick to a bank branch in nearby Robbinsdale, where Boelter, who can be seen in security footage wearing a cowboy hat, withdrew $2,200, emptying his bank account. He paid the man $900. Sunday, June 15, about 2:30 a.m., Green Isle Law enforcement received a report of someone riding an e-bike on a country road outside the small town of Green Isle, about an hour from downtown Minneapolis. The cyclist was not found, but Boelter's family lives not far away, in a sprawling 3,800-square-foot house they bought in 2023 for more than $500,000. Later Sunday morning The Buick was found, abandoned, near where the cyclist had been spotted. Worried about explosives, law enforcement initially used a robot to check the car. Inside, they found the cowboy hat that Boelter appeared to be wearing in the bank. There was also a handwritten letter addressed to the FBI in which Boelter said he was 'the shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings.' Sunday night, Green Isle Law enforcement set up a large perimeter near Green Isle after a police officer thought he'd seen Boelter running into the woods. Twenty tactical teams were called in for an intensive search. For hours, heavily armed men, some with dogs, walked the roads and fields of rural Sibley County. A helicopter was called in to help. Boelter was spotted shortly before nightfall, and officers surrounded him. He soon surrendered, crawling to officers who handcuffed him and took him into custody. Monday, St. Paul Boelter now faces a series of state charges, including murder and attempted murder. Federal prosecutors announced they had charged him with murder and stalking, which could result in a death sentence if he is convicted. At a federal court hearing Monday in St. Paul, Boelter said he could not afford an attorney. A federal defender was appointed to represent him. He was ordered held without bail ahead of a court appearance next week. Across the U.S., local and state politicians rushed to scrub home addresses from websites and began debating whether security should now be provided for politicians like state senators. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a text from Yvette Hoffman, whose recovery came quicker than her husband's. 'John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,' Yvette Hoffman said Saturday in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. 'He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark.' ___ Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Biesecker, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas; Giovanna Dell'Orto in Champlin; Obed Lamy in St. Paul and Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report. ___ This story was compiled from federal and state legal documents, interviews with law enforcement officials, political officials and people who knew Boelter and the victims.
