--- title: "Police raid local Kansas newspaper, a look at pop culture X accounts as a source of breaking news" description: "The Briefing is your weekly update on the world of news and information" date: "2023-08-17" authors: - name: "Jacob Liedke" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/police-raid-local-kansas-newspaper-a-look-at-pop-culture-x-accounts-as-a-source-of-breaking-news/" --- # Police raid local Kansas newspaper, a look at pop culture X accounts as a source of breaking news [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/prc-logo.png?w=640){.aligncenter width=348}](https://www.pewresearch.org/prc-logo/) --- August 17, 2023 # The Briefing **☀️ Happy Thursday!** *The Briefing updates you on what’s happened and what’s coming in the news and information world – and what our data tells us about it. Not a subscriber yet? [**Sign up here!**](https://www.pewresearch.org/sign-up-for-the-briefing/)* **In today's email:** - **Top story:** Police raid local Kansas newspaper and seize computers, reporting materials - **Under the radar:** Some social media users are getting breaking news from pop culture accounts - **Looking ahead:** A look at a network of partisan local newsrooms ahead of the 2024 election - **Chart of the week:** Older and more experienced journalists are especially concerned about press freedoms 🔥 **Top story** On Friday, law enforcement in Kansas [**raided the office of the Marion County Record**](https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/11/police-stage-chilling-raid-on-marion-county-newspaper-seizing-computers-records-and-cellphones/), a family-owned weekly newspaper, and seized computers and reporting material. Experts are concerned that this unprecedented raid [may be a violation](https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-08-14/a-newspaper-raid-in-kansas-did-not-stop-the-presses-but-did-start-scrutiny-of-local-police) of the freedom of press guaranteed by the First Amendment. A [local prosecutor has now concluded](https://apnews.com/article/marion-kansas-newspaper-police-raid-51993acb6d3769184d28f81dbee66c43) that the raid was unwarranted. Most journalists in the United States are highly concerned about the future of press freedoms in the country, according to a [2022 Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/06/14/journalists-highly-concerned-about-misinformation-future-of-press-freedoms/) of nearly 12,000 journalists. **57% of U.S. journalists **surveyed say they are** extremely or very concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms **in the country. (Refer to the chart below for more data on how journalists differ in their views toward the future of press freedoms in the U.S.) 🕵️ **Under the radar** - A look at **pop culture X (formerly Twitter) accounts** and [the rise of nontraditional news consumption ](https://www.vox.com/politics/23827432/pop-crave-pop-base-politics-election-2024-trump-biden-indictment) - **Gen Z influencers** are being [recruited to defend impeached Texas attorney general](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/14/influenceable-texas-politics-ken-paxton/) - How **Fox** leverages hit shows to [charge higher carriage fees](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/aug/15/fox-news-cable-carriage-fees-tv-world-cup-nfl) and keep Fox News on the air - **Local reporting** on a businessman’s use of a slur [spurs defamation suit and financial struggle](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/business/media/antigay-slur-wausau-pilot-review.html) - How **Spanish-language misinformation** [spreads on social media](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/climate-disinformation-spanish-misinformation-spreads-impacts-latinos-rcna98823) amid climate disasters - Pro-government **social media influencers in El Salvador **seek to [counter negative press from independent media](https://apnews.com/article/bukele-tiktok-youtube-influencers-disinformation-el-salvador-5523937ba0e499af71e7f2ff7e72eeac) 📅 **Looking ahead** This week, we look at the growth of partisan news outlets ahead of the 2024 election. Progressive local news group Courier Newsroom is [launching newsrooms](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/15/courier-newsroom-expansion-ahead-2024-election) in Nevada, Texas and New Hampshire. Courier is a part of a public benefit corporation that [seeks to address disinformation](https://www.axios.com/2021/10/26/soros-hoffman-disinformation-tara-mcgowan) through investment in local news outlets. According to a [2018 Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/03/26/most-americans-especially-republicans-say-local-journalists-shouldnt-express-views-on-local-issues/), 61% of Americans believe local journalists should not express their views on local issues, compared with 36% who say they should. 📊 **Chart of the week** Debates about press freedom took center stage this week. Our [2022 survey of U.S. journalists](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/02/most-u-s-journalists-are-concerned-about-press-freedoms/#concerns-about-press-freedoms-by-journalists-age-experience) found that older and more experienced journalists have higher levels of concern about potential restrictions on freedom of the press than their younger peers. [![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/08/image-1.png){.aligncenter width=337}](https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/the-briefing-2023-08-17/image-1-png/) --- *👋 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 and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert. *Do you like this newsletter? 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