---
title: "Facebook is a news source for many, but only incidentally"
description: "Unlike Twitter, which has developed into a go-to source for breaking news, only 28% of Facebook news consumers have ever used the service to track an unfolding news story. And even among that sub-subgroup, fewer than half (41%) said Facebook was among the first places they'd turn to keep up with a breaking news event."
date: "2014-02-04"
authors:
  - name: "Drew DeSilver"
    job_title: "Senior Writer/Editor"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/drew-desilver/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/02/04/facebook-is-a-news-source-for-many-but-only-incidentally/"
categories:
  - "Digital News Landscape"
  - "Facebook"
  - "News Platforms & Sources"
  - "Social Media"
  - "Social Media & the News"
---

# Facebook is a news source for many, but only incidentally

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2013/10/1-Facebook-and-News.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2013/10/24/the-role-of-news-on-facebook/)

Over the past decade, Facebook has evolved from a social network for college students to a source of information, connection, entertainment -- and, sometimes, news -- for [1.2 billion people](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/02/04/overseas-users-power-facebooks-growth-more-going-mobile-only/) around the world. But according to a [Pew Research Center report](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2013/10/24/the-role-of-news-on-facebook/) from last year, most Americans who get news via Facebook do so as a byproduct of their [other activities there](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/02/03/6-new-facts-about-facebook/) -- what one might call "drive-by news".

About half (47%) of adult U.S. Facebook users said they had ever gotten news via the service -- equivalent to 30% of the adult population, the survey found. But the overwhelming majority (78%) of that subgroup said they picked up news from Facebook when they were on the site for some other reason; just 4% said Facebook was their most important news source.

Facebook news consumers are considerably younger (39) than other adult Facebook users (47). About a third (34%) of Facebook news consumers are ages 18 to 29; nearly four-in-ten (39%) are ages 30 to 49.

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2013/10/8-Kinds-of-News-on-Facebook.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2013/10/24/the-role-of-news-on-facebook/)

Unlike Twitter, which has developed into [a go-to source for breaking news](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2013/11/04/twitter-news-consumers-young-mobile-and-educated/), only 28% of Facebook news consumers have ever used the service to track an unfolding news story. And even among that sub-subgroup, fewer than half (41%) said Facebook was among the first places they'd turn to keep up with a breaking news event.

Speaking of which, just what sort of news are we talking about, anyway? While Facebook news consumers say they see regularly news about a range of different topics, entertainment news seems to stand out: Almost three-quarters (73%) said they regularly saw entertainment news on the site. The next most commonly cited topics: community news (65%) and sports (57%).

Facebook, which is constantly seeking ways to encourage people to visit the site more often and stay longer, apparently sees news as a way to deepen what it calls "user engagement." On Monday, the company rolled out a [new iPhone app called Paper](http://techland.time.com/2014/02/03/facebook-paper-app/) that (along with a new, less cluttered interface) employs human editors to recommend articles and blog posts on a dozen newsy topics, from top headlines and sports to technology and the environment.