---
title: "Google tests removing news articles by EU-based publishers from search"
description: "Plus, The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars, Bluesky emerges as an alternative to X"
date: "2024-11-14"
authors:
  - name: "Emily Tomasik"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/google-tests-removing-news-articles-by-eu-based-publishers-from-search/"
---

# Google tests removing news articles by EU-based publishers from search

**☀️ Happy Thursday!** *The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information*.* [**Sign up here!**](https://www.pewresearch.org/sign-up-for-the-briefing/)*

**In today*’*s email:**

- **Featured story:** Google tests removing news articles by EU-based publishers from search

- **In other news:** The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars

- **Looking ahead:** Bluesky emerges as an alternative to X

- **Chart of the week:** Getting local news from personal connections still happens primarily by word of mouth

🔥 **Featured story**

**Google **is [testing the impact of removing news articles](https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/13/24295463/google-eu-test-news-outlets-removing-results) by **European Union**-based publishers from search results. The test will affect just 1% of users in several European countries, aiming to assess the impact on user traffic and the overall search experience. Google was previously [fined in France](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/20/google-fined-250m-euros-in-france-for-breaching-intellectual-property-rules) for breaching rules about reproducing media companies’ content online.

In the U.S., **about two-thirds of adults say they often (23%) or sometimes (43%) get news from Google or other search engines,** including 12% who say they prefer to get news this way over any other platform, according to a [2024 Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/). This is slightly lower than the share of Americans who prefer to get news on social media (18%).

📌 **In other news**

- **The Onion** [buys](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/onion-wins-alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy-auction-rcna179936) **Alex Jones’ Infowars** in bankruptcy auction

- **The Guardian** will [stop posting on X](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/x-elon-musk-guardian/), citing conspiracy theories and racism on the platform

- **President-elect Donald Trump** [plans changes](https://www.axios.com/2024/11/13/trump-reporters-white-house-briefing-room) to **White House briefing room**

- **Trump **announces **Fox News contributors** as [part of his administration](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/11/13/trump-hegseth-defense-secretary-fox-news/)

- **MSNBC's **[ratings decline](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/business/media/msnbc-fox-news-ratings-election.html) after election

- **Chris Wallace** is [quitting CNN](https://apnews.com/article/cnn-wallace-exit-independent-7626881765d5b9dbabe209f8f0368a7c) three years after joining the network from **Fox News**

- **Sarah Palin** and **The New York Times** [discuss settlement](https://www.reuters.com/legal/sarah-palin-ny-times-have-explored-settlement-judge-sets-defamation-retrial-2024-11-12/) ahead of defamation retrial

- **The Wall Street Journal** is [experimenting with AI-generated summary boxes](https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/13/24295838/the-wall-street-journal-ai-article-summaries-key-points) at the top of some articles

📅 **Looking ahead**

In the wake of the U.S. presidential election, social media site **Bluesky **has [gained more than 1 million users](https://apnews.com/article/x-bluesky-social-media-musk-trump-d78de194e0e85f803652b70b161a963b) as some people look for alternatives to **X, formerly known as Twitter.** Some of those making the switch cite false information and hate speech on X as reasons, as well as X owner **Elon Musk’s** close proximity to President-elect **Donald Trump.**

In 2023, five months after Musk’s takeover of Twitter, 60% of the site’s U.S. users said they had** taken a break from the platform** in the past year, [according to a Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/17/majority-of-us-twitter-users-say-theyve-taken-a-break-from-the-platform-in-the-past-year/).

Earlier this year, [another Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/06/12/how-x-users-view-experience-the-platform/) found bipartisan agreement among X users that people feel free to** openly express their political views** on the platform, with 89% of Republicans and 86% of Democrats voicing this view. But Democrats who use X were much more likely than Republicans on the site to say people getting harassed on X is a major problem (48% vs. 15%). And among those who post about politics on X, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say a major reason they do so is that** their views feel welcome** **there **(54% vs. 33%).

📊 **Chart of the week**

This week’s chart comes from a [recent Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/26/friends-family-and-neighbors-are-americans-most-common-source-of-local-news/) about Americans' local news habits. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) say they often or sometimes get local news from friends, family and neighbors.

However, even as news consumption is becoming more digital, **local news exchanges among personal networks still largely happen through word of mouth.** A majority of those who get local news from people they know (62%) say they usually get it in person or on the phone, as opposed to on social media (25%) or text or email (12%). The share who get local news from people they know via word of mouth is down slightly from 71% in 2018.

![A bar chart showing that Getting local news from others still primarily happens via word of mouth](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/sr_2024.09.26_news-family-friends_02.png?w=620)

*👋 That's all for this week. *

The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert.

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