Pew Knight Initiative
The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.
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About seven-in-ten Americans (69%) say social media companies have too much power and influence in politics today. And a smaller majority (55%) say the same about U.S. news organizations, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative.
| Too much | About the right amount of | Not enough | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media companies | 69 | 22 | 6 |
| U.S. news organizations | 55 | 29 | 14 |
On the other hand, just 6% say social media companies have too little power and influence in politics today, and 14% say the same about news organizations.
One way social media companies can exercise political influence is by shaping content on their platforms, which some participants in our focus groups called modern “public squares.” They can do this by actively deciding which posts get taken down or flagged, or more subtly through algorithms. Most Americans who say they regularly get news on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok said in a 2024 survey that they think each platform influences the news stories they see there at least somewhat.
Even as many Americans say news organizations have too much political influence, there is a widespread sense that journalists’ influence in society is declining. In a 2025 Center survey, about half of Americans (49%) said that journalists are losing influence in society, compared with 15% who said they are gaining influence.
How similar or different are Republicans’ and Democrats’ views?
Republicans and Democrats largely agree that social media companies have too much political power. But their views of news organizations’ influence diverge.
| Rep/Lean Rep | Dem/Lean Dem | |
|---|---|---|
| Social media companies | 71 | 69 |
| U.S. news organizations | 69 | 43 |
Roughly equal shares of Republicans (71%) and Democrats (69%) say social media companies have too much power in politics today. These shares include independents who lean toward each party.
While a similar share of Republicans (69%) also say U.S. news organizations have too much power in politics, fewer than half of Democrats (43%) express this view.
This gap is consistent with other attitudes toward journalists and the news media. For instance, Republicans are much less likely than Democrats to have confidence in journalists to act in the best interests of the public. They’re also less likely to trust information from national and local news outlets.
In addition, trust in information from social media is low in both parties. Around six-in-ten Republicans (63%) and Democrats (60%) have little or no trust in information from these platforms.
Note: Here are our survey questions, the detailed responses and the methodology.
