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More adults than ever under 30 in the U.S. expressed trust in news they see on social media platforms, while fewer that ever said the same about national news, according to a new analysis from Pew Research Center.
The think tank surveyed 12,147 U.S. adults between July 18 and Aug. 21, and it found that 50% of adults under 30 expressed a lot or some trust in news via social media, while just 56% of that age group said the same about national news.
Pew said those numbers were the highest and lowest on record, respectively, since it began asking questions on this topic in 2016.
According to Pew, 36% of respondents 30 through 49 have at least some trust in news they see on social networking platforms, while that number slides to 25% for those 50 through 64 and 20% for those 65 and older.
Local news outlets were the most trusted among all age groups, at 71%, but that figure was down from 85% in 2019.
Pew found “stark differences” among party lines, saying that 77% of Democrats and independents who lean Democrat said they have at least some trust in national news, compared with 42% of Republicans and Republican leaners.
Senior researcher Jeffrey Gottfried and research assistant Jacob Liedke wrote, “Americans have long been much more likely to trust information from local and national news organizations than information on social media sites. This remains the case today, except among the youngest adults. Adults under 30 are now almost as likely to trust information from social media sites as they are to trust information from national news outlets.”
