Alternative social media news consumers more likely than Americans overall to favor free speech protection over safeguards against false or offensive content | Pew Research Center

July 16, 2024

The Role of Alternative Social Media in the News and Information Environment

Alternative social media news consumers more likely than Americans overall to favor free speech protection over safeguards against false or offensive content

Alternative social media news consumers more likely than Americans overall to favor free speech protection over safeguards against false or offensive content

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Alternative social media news consumers more likely than Americans overall to favor free speech protection over safeguards against false or offensive content

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The Role of Alternative Social Media in the News and Information Environment
Alternative social media sites attract a small, loyal base of news consumers; top accounts often espouse pro-Trump, pro-America, religious themes
Staying informed about current events is a top reason people use alternative social media sites and users are generally satisfied with their news experience
Most alternative social media sites in the study moderate their content to at least some extent
15% of prominent alternative social media accounts have been banned or demonetized on other social media sites
Alternative social media news consumers more likely than Americans overall to favor free speech protection over safeguards against false or offensive content
Most alternative social media news consumers feel a sense of a community there and say discussions are friendly
About a quarter of prominent alternative social media accounts link themselves to GOP, Trump
About two-thirds of alternative social media news consumers are Republicans
Wide variance in the sites Americans have heard of, but few get news on any
How Pew Research Center analyzed alternative social media sites