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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A growing share of Americans say they mostly get news because they happen to come across it, not because they’re actively seeking it out. About half of U.S. adults (49%) say this is the case today, up from 39% when we first asked this question in 2019.
| Type of news | They are looking for it | They happen to come across it | They don’t get this type of news |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-depth information or deep dives | 58 | 31 | 11 |
| The most up-to-date information | 55 | 38 | 6 |
| People expressing opinions | 21 | 64 | 14 |
| Funny posts | 14 | 66 | 20 |
However, Americans are especially likely to find certain types of news by chance and actively look for others, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative.
The types of content that most Americans say they get by chance tend to be reactions to news: humor and opinions. About two-thirds of adults say they see funny posts (66%) and opinions (64%) about the news mostly because they happen to come across them. Meanwhile, 21% say they get opinions mostly by looking for them, and 14% say the same for funny posts.
By contrast, only 31% say they get in-depth information or deep dives into issues or news events because they happen to come across them. And 38% say this is how they tend to get the most up-to-date information about issues or events.
Differences by age and education
In general, younger adults are much more likely than older people to get news because they happen to come across it. This remains true for most types of content we asked about.
| Age | Type | They are looking for it | They happen to come across it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ages 18-29 | In-depth information | 52 | 36 |
| 30-49 | In-depth information | 57 | 32 |
| 50-64 | In-depth information | 60 | 28 |
| 65+ | In-depth information | 61 | 26 |
| Ages 18-29 | Up-to-date information | 40 | 52 |
| 30-49 | Up-to-date information | 52 | 41 |
| 50-64 | Up-to-date information | 62 | 33 |
| 65+ | Up-to-date information | 68 | 28 |
| Ages 18-29 | Opinion content | 18 | 72 |
| 30-49 | Opinion content | 17 | 69 |
| 50-64 | Opinion content | 22 | 61 |
| 65+ | Opinion content | 28 | 55 |
| Ages 18-29 | Funny posts | 16 | 72 |
| 30-49 | Funny posts | 14 | 70 |
| 50-64 | Funny posts | 12 | 63 |
| 65+ | Funny posts | 12 | 57 |
For example, 52% of adults ages 18 to 29 say they mostly get up-to-date information about news events by chance, compared with 28% of adults ages 65 and older. Likewise, younger adults are more likely than older Americans to say they tend to get in-depth information this way, though at least half of adults in each age group say they mostly get this type of content because they are looking for it.
There are also differences by education level on some types of news content. Majorities of college graduates say they mostly get deep dives (70%) and up-to-date information (65%) because they are looking for them. By comparison, about half of adults without a college degree say the same (52% and 51%, respectively).
On the other hand, college graduates and those without a college degree are about equally likely to say they get funny posts or opinions about the news because they are looking for them.
Differences within political parties
| Conservative Rep | Moderate/ Liberal Rep | Moderate/ Conservative Dem | Liberal Dem | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-depth information or deep dives | 65 | 54 | 51 | 69 | |
| The most up-to-date information | 63 | 49 | 51 | 65 | |
| People expressing opinions | 26 | 16 | 21 | 23 | |
| Funny posts | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Similar shares of Democrats and Republicans (including independents who lean toward each party) say they mostly get each type of news because they are looking for it. However, liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans differ in some cases from their more moderate counterparts.
For example, 65% of conservative Republicans and 69% of liberal Democrats say they mostly get in-depth information about the news because they seek it out. Smaller shares of moderate or liberal Republicans (54%) and moderate or conservative Democrats (51%) say the same.
Is it harder to understand the news if you find it by chance?
In general, most Americans say it’s easy for them to understand news they come across. However, the share who say this is easy is generally lower among those who get each type of news by chance, compared with those who seek it out.
Among those who say they get in-depth or up-to-date information because they happen to come across it, 70% say the news is generally easy for them to understand. That compares with 81% of those who say they mostly seek out these types of content.
Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.