News on Twitter: Consumed by Most Users and Trusted by Many
Fully 70% of U.S. adult Twitter news consumers say they have used Twitter to follow live news events, up from 59% who said this in 2015.
Restrictions on religion increased in 2016 for the second straight year. Nationalist parties and organizations played an increasing role in harassment of religious minorities, especially in Europe.
Depending on the topic, urban residents are more likely to use mobile and online sources; suburbanites are most heavily into social media; and rural residents are more inclined to word of mouth sources
Technology topped the agenda on Twitter last week as the powerful tech troika of Twitter, Google and Facebook all generated attention. On blogs, the focus was divided between events relating to the Afghanistan war and the death of a veteran actor. And a YouTube-based host who creates his own brand of news was popular once again.
A judge’s decision to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage became a reason to celebrate for many bloggers last week. Others rallied behind the website WikiLeaks, following its release of secret information about the war in Afghanistan. On Twitter, the decision by 40 wealthy Americans to donate money to charity drew the most attention. And on YouTube, an Alabama crime stopper became a web sensation.
The controversy surrounding General McChrystal – and especially Obama’s role in the matter – commanded attention on blogs and Twitter last week. Twitter users also shared news of a landmark copyright ruling portrayed as a victory for online freedom. And on YouTube, a clip of a dancing baby led to a vibrant conversation over authenticity.
The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico became a hot topic in blogs and on Twitter last week, with the discussion focused on a range of storylines. At the same time, two subjects that had generated little attention in recent weeks—the economy and the war in Afghanistan—also drew significant interest. On YouTube, a Congressman’s angry response to being filmed drew almost 2.5 million views.
Bloggers last week returned to two issues that generated interest in recent weeks. For the second time in a month, Afghanistan led the news in the blogosphere. And musician Dave Matthews sparked a second round of heated online debate with some comments about racism. On Twitter, for this week at least, the focus moved beyond Twitter itself.
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