Adults in the U.S. Don’t Trust the News They Get via Social Media, But They Keep Coming Back

A new survey by Pew Research Center cited convenience as the top reason why

The majority of adults in the U.S. don’t believe the news they see on social networking sites, yet they keep coming back, largely due to convenience, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.

The nonpartisan think tank polled 4,581 U.S. adults who are members of its American Trends Panel, and 68 of respondents said they at least occasionally get news from social media. However, 57 percent believe that news is largely inaccurate. And 42 percent of respondents who prefer to get their news through social media rather than other platforms—print, television, radio—also expect that news to be inaccurate.

Most respondents said getting news via social networking sites did not help or hurt their understanding of current events, while 36 percent believe it was helpful and 15 percent found that it confused them.

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