Social Media's News Takeover: Personalities, Misinformation, and X's Right Turn - ListenHub

Social Media's News Takeover: Personalities, Misinformation, and X's Right Turn

ListenHub

61

Jun 17

From

bbc

Social media, fueled by personalities, now dominates US news, surpassing traditional media, enabling political bypass, and sparking major misinformation concerns, as seen with X's audience shifts.

Social media and video networks have become the primary news source in the US, surpassing traditional outlets, driven by personality-based content. This trend challenges traditional journalism and facilitates political bypass of mainstream media, despite significant concerns about misinformation from influencers and politicians alike. Notably, X has seen a dramatic increase in right-leaning audiences since Elon Musk's takeover.

More than half (54%) of people in the US get news from social networks like Facebook, X, and YouTube.
This figure overtakes traditional TV (50%) and news sites/apps (48%).
Changes are happening "faster – and with more impact" in the US compared to other countries.

Personality-Driven Content and Traditional Journalism's Struggle

Podcaster Joe Rogan was the most widely-seen personality, with 22% of the population encountering his news or commentary.
The rise of social video and personality-driven news represents a "significant challenge for traditional publishers."
Populist politicians are "increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism" in favor of "friendly partisan media, 'personalities', and 'influencers'."

X's Audience Shift and Rival Platform Impact

Usage of X for news is "stable or increasing across many markets," with the biggest uplift in the US.
After Elon Musk's 2022 takeover, the proportion of self-identified right-leaning users tripled in the US and almost doubled in the UK.
Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are "making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news."

Misinformation Concerns and Evolving Trust in News

Online influencers and personalities are named a major source of false or misleading information by 47% of people worldwide, putting them level with politicians.
TikTok is the fastest-growing social and video network, used for news by 17% globally.
While AI chatbots for news are on the rise (twice as popular among under-25s), most people believe AI will make news less transparent, accurate, and trustworthy.

Outline

Social media, fueled by personalities, now dominates US news, surpassing traditional media, enabling political bypass, and sparking major misinformation concerns, as seen with X's audience shifts.

Social media and video networks have become the primary news source in the US, surpassing traditional outlets, driven by personality-based content. This trend challenges traditional journalism and facilitates political bypass of mainstream media, despite significant concerns about misinformation from influencers and politicians alike. Notably, X has seen a dramatic increase in right-leaning audiences since Elon Musk's takeover.

More than half (54%) of people in the US get news from social networks like Facebook, X, and YouTube.
This figure overtakes traditional TV (50%) and news sites/apps (48%).
Changes are happening "faster – and with more impact" in the US compared to other countries.

Personality-Driven Content and Traditional Journalism's Struggle

Podcaster Joe Rogan was the most widely-seen personality, with 22% of the population encountering his news or commentary.
The rise of social video and personality-driven news represents a "significant challenge for traditional publishers."
Populist politicians are "increasingly able to bypass traditional journalism" in favor of "friendly partisan media, 'personalities', and 'influencers'."

X's Audience Shift and Rival Platform Impact

Usage of X for news is "stable or increasing across many markets," with the biggest uplift in the US.
After Elon Musk's 2022 takeover, the proportion of self-identified right-leaning users tripled in the US and almost doubled in the UK.
Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are "making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news."

Misinformation Concerns and Evolving Trust in News

Online influencers and personalities are named a major source of false or misleading information by 47% of people worldwide, putting them level with politicians.
TikTok is the fastest-growing social and video network, used for news by 17% globally.
While AI chatbots for news are on the rise (twice as popular among under-25s), most people believe AI will make news less transparent, accurate, and trustworthy.

Script

Mia: So, I just stumbled upon this article, 'Social media now main source of news in US, research suggests', and it just hit me how completely wild the shift is in how we all get our news now. Seriously, remember back in the day when our folks would be glued to the evening news, or we'd actually, like, hold a physical newspaper? It feels like a lifetime ago, right? How did we even get here?

Mars: You're not kidding, it's absolutely mind-boggling. We're talking over 54 percent of people grabbing their daily dose of info from places like Facebook, X, and YouTube. Seriously, over half! And get this, that's already beating out traditional TV at 50 percent, and even news apps and websites at 48 percent. It's like the US just decided to hit fast-forward on this whole digital news thing, way ahead of everyone else.

Mia: So, social media basically just took over the news desk, huh? But here's the real kicker: it's not just *where* we're getting our updates from, it's *who* is dishing them out now. Who are these new information overlords, and what kind of power are they actually wielding?

Mars: Oh, it's wild. We're seeing these individual personalities just explode onto the scene like nobody's business. I mean, look at Joe Rogan. The guy's got 22 percent of people tuning into his news or commentary *every single week*. That's seriously giving the big networks a run for their money! But you hit the nail on the head; that whole personalized vibe can totally skip over all the usual journalistic checks and balances. Which, of course, throws up red flags about bias and whether what you're hearing is actually, you know, true.

Mia: And then there's this whole political layer to it as well, which is just... something else. It's like populist politicians are actively ditching the tough questions from mainstream journalists to go hang out with their online buddies who'll just, you know, lob softballs. What happens when holding people accountable just gets completely shoved aside for a platform that's basically just a giant echo chamber?

Mars: Exactly! It means nobody's asking the real questions, and these narratives just sail right through without a single challenge. And get this, almost half the world, 47 percent of people, are now pointing fingers at online influencers as a major source of straight-up false or misleading information. They're literally on the same level as politicians when it comes to spreading questionable stuff! That personal connection might feel super strong, but man, is it a minefield.

Mia: Totally, that personal touch, as potent as it is, really makes you scratch your head about the platforms themselves and where they're even headed. So, what's cooking on places like X and TikTok these days? Any wild trends popping up? And what about AI? Is that just going to completely flip the script on how we get our news next?

Mars: Okay, so on X, it's actually pretty wild. News consumption is either holding steady or even going up. But here's the kicker: ever since Elon Musk took over, the number of right-leaning users in the US has *tripled*, and nearly doubled in the UK! That's a massive swing in the whole vibe of the network. Then you've got TikTok, which is just sprinting ahead as a news source, with 17 percent of global users now getting their news there. That's a huge jump from last year! And, of course, AI chatbots are starting to sneak into the younger crowd's news diet, though most folks are pretty worried these things are just going to make news even murkier and less trustworthy.

Mia: You know, it's funny though, with all these crazy waves of change crashing over us, people still seem to gravitate towards the old, trusted news brands, the ones with a solid track record for actually getting things right. So, in this absolute jungle of a news ecosystem, what's going to be the real gold standard, the thing everyone's actually looking for?

Mars: Hands down, it's going to be trust and credibility. Think about it: in this wild, wild west of influencers and algorithms, those established brands that actually give you the straight, transparent reporting? They're probably going to become the most valuable, rarest thing out there.

Mia: And there you have it, folks. This is social media's absolute news takeover. It's all about the personalities driving the ship, battling misinformation at every turn, and yeah, that undeniable right turn we've seen on X.