As part of that survey of 10,658 U.S. adults, conducted in July and August 2024, Pew’s researchers also asked the 2,012 respondents who said they regularly get news from news influencers on social media to answer an open-ended follow-up question.
When asked to name a news influencer who first comes to mind, respondents identified 425 different individuals, with no single creator dominating audience recognition.
Content creator Philip DeFranco led recognition at 3%, followed by Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, V Spehar of Under the Desk News, and Carlos Eduardo Espina, each at 2%. Additional figures including Dan Bongino, Joe Rogan, Brian Tyler Cohen, and Elon Musk each garnered 1% recognition.
Source: Pew-Knight Initiative
The study reveals that 42% of respondents who said they regularly consume news from influencers cannot name a specific creator when asked. Another 7% identify media outlets rather than individual creators, while smaller percentages cite social media platforms, search engines, or news aggregators.
Engagement Patterns and Platform Dynamics
The research identified a clear correlation between name recognition and audience engagement.
Among respondents who could name a specific news influencer, 72% actively follow or subscribe to news influencers on social media platforms. This contrasted with just 45% among those unable to name an individual creator.
Source: Pew-Knight Initiative
The data suggested that algorithmic content distribution may explain how users regularly encounter news influencer content without actively following creators.
Despite consuming content regularly, only 39% of respondents who named a specific influencer reported feeling a personal connection to news creators. This figure dropped to 23% among those unable to identify individual influencers.
The study’s definition of news influencers encompasses individuals with substantial social media followings who regularly post about news or politics. While some respondents identified political figures like President Donald Trump (2%) as news influencers, the research explicitly excludes elected officials and political candidates from this category. Similarly, some respondents named entertainment-focused creators like MrBeast (1%) who do not primarily focus on news content.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Recent research from Pew Research Center revealed that 21% of U.S. adults regularly consume news from social media influencers, though many struggle to identify specific news content creators by name.
As part of that survey of 10,658 U.S. adults, conducted in July and August 2024, Pew’s researchers also asked the 2,012 respondents who said they regularly get news from news influencers on social media to answer an open-ended follow-up question.
When asked to name a news influencer who first comes to mind, respondents identified 425 different individuals, with no single creator dominating audience recognition.
Content creator Philip DeFranco led recognition at 3%, followed by Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, V Spehar of Under the Desk News, and Carlos Eduardo Espina, each at 2%. Additional figures including Dan Bongino, Joe Rogan, Brian Tyler Cohen, and Elon Musk each garnered 1% recognition.
Source: Pew-Knight Initiative
The study reveals that 42% of respondents who said they regularly consume news from influencers cannot name a specific creator when asked. Another 7% identify media outlets rather than individual creators, while smaller percentages cite social media platforms, search engines, or news aggregators.
Engagement Patterns and Platform Dynamics
The research identified a clear correlation between name recognition and audience engagement.
Among respondents who could name a specific news influencer, 72% actively follow or subscribe to news influencers on social media platforms. This contrasted with just 45% among those unable to name an individual creator.
Source: Pew-Knight Initiative
The data suggested that algorithmic content distribution may explain how users regularly encounter news influencer content without actively following creators.
Despite consuming content regularly, only 39% of respondents who named a specific influencer reported feeling a personal connection to news creators. This figure dropped to 23% among those unable to identify individual influencers.
The study’s definition of news influencers encompasses individuals with substantial social media followings who regularly post about news or politics. While some respondents identified political figures like President Donald Trump (2%) as news influencers, the research explicitly excludes elected officials and political candidates from this category. Similarly, some respondents named entertainment-focused creators like MrBeast (1%) who do not primarily focus on news content.
The full findings are available here.