During a 2024 survey, 77 percent of respondents from Nigeria stated that they used social media as a source of news. In comparison, just 23 percent of Japanese respondents said the same. Large portions of social media users around the world admit that they do not trust social platforms either as media sources or as a way to get news, and yet they continue to access such networks on a daily basis.
Social media: trust and consumption
Despite the majority of adults surveyed in each country reporting that they used social networks to keep up to date with news and current affairs, a 2018 study showed that social media is the least trusted news source in the world. Less than 35 percent of adults in Europe considered social networks to be trustworthy in this respect, yet more than 50 percent of adults in Portugal, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Croatia said that they got their news on social media.
What is clear is that we live in an era where social media is such an enormous part of daily life that consumers will still use it in spite of their doubts or reservations. Concerns about fake news and propaganda on social media have not stopped billions of users accessing their favorite networks on a daily basis. Most Millennials in the United States use social media for news every day, and younger consumers in European countries are much more likely to use social networks for national political news than their older peers. Like it or not, reading news on social is fast becoming the norm for younger generations, and this form of news consumption will likely increase further regardless of whether consumers fully trust their chosen network or not.
Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2024
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. (June 17, 2024). Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 24, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/718019/social-media-news-source/
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. "Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2024." Chart. June 17, 2024. Statista. Accessed October 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/718019/social-media-news-source/
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. (2024). Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2024. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/718019/social-media-news-source/
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. "Share of Adults Who Use Social Media as a Source of News in Selected Countries Worldwide as of February 2024." Statista, Statista Inc., 17 Jun 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/718019/social-media-news-source/
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2024 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/718019/social-media-news-source/ (last visited October 24, 2024)
Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2024 [Graph], Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, June 17, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/718019/social-media-news-source/