Pew Knight Initiative
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Americans face a variety of challenges as they try to stay informed on news, including concerns about inaccurate news, stark political divides in news sources and the rise of artificial intelligence.
Against this backdrop, we asked Americans to describe in their own words what they think it means to be a “good news consumer.” The wide range of answers we received shows that Americans have many different ways of navigating the modern information landscape.
These findings, which are part of a Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative, also reflect the increased power and responsibility individuals have to decide what news to consume and trust.
Being skeptical
One of the most common things Americans associate with being a good news consumer is a sense of skepticism or discernment. One-in-five adults mentioned this in their responses.
| Attribute | Percent |
|---|---|
| Being discerning or skeptical | 20% |
| Following the news or staying informed | 17% |
| Getting news from quality sources | 13% |
| Researching or fact-checking the news | 12% |
| Getting news from a variety of sources | 10% |
| Getting news from a variety of perspectives | 7% |
| Not sharing inaccurate information | 4% |
| Using the news to make decisions | 3% |
| Other | 10% |
For instance, some people mentioned critical thinking or taking things “with a grain of salt.” Others made statements like “don’t believe everything you hear.” Some even warned about “propaganda.”
Another 12% said a good news consumer researches or fact-checks the news on their own. This can include checking multiple sources, searching on the internet, and questioning what news organizations or official sources are saying.
The vast majority of Americans (82%) say they at least sometimes do their own research to check the accuracy of the news.
Following the news regularly
Another common description of a good news consumer is someone who remains informed. The 17% of responses that included this idea said things like “Follow the news on a daily basis” and “Try to stay informed on current events.”
While roughly half of U.S. adults (47%) say it is extremely or very important for people to get news regularly, this attitude is less common among younger adults. This mirrors another trend in news consumption: About half of Americans (and a large majority of young adults) say they get news mostly because they happen to come across it, not because they are looking for it.
Quality of news sources
Some respondents (13%) said that a good news consumer carefully evaluates the quality of the news sources they’re using. One respondent said that a good news consumer “[makes] an attempt to find reputable news outlets” or follows “unbiased news organizations.” Another said that a good news consumer gets news “from sources that have high standards for reporting and accuracy, as well as fair and balanced coverage.”
The challenge here is that people’s views of which news outlets are trustworthy vary widely, particularly by political party. And there is no single news outlet among the 30 we asked Americans about in 2025 that a majority of U.S. adults trust.
Quantity and variety of news sources
Given that Americans trust and distrust a range of news outlets, it makes sense that some Americans (10%) say a good news consumer gets news from a variety of sources.
As part of this study, we also held focus groups to help further understand how Americans think about their own role in the news environment. One woman in her 50s said that “double-checking, verifying, gathering news from multiple types of media and from multiple sources, and then drawing your own conclusion about what is correct or what is not correct” are all important when engaging with news.
People often frame this idea specifically around politics and getting a variety of viewpoints (7%). Multiple people said in the open-ended survey question that a good news consumer goes out of their way to get “both sides of an issue.” And another focus group participant, a man in his 30s, said that “the right way to me is to consume it from multiple sources, on every side, so that you can get the facts.”
What to do after getting news
When describing what it means to be a good news consumer, smaller shares of Americans talked about what people should do after consuming news. For example, 4% said a good news consumer does not share inaccurate news, with responses like “Make sure you get everything right before you post something.” In the focus groups, a woman in her 20s talked about sharing things she later found out were low quality: “I used to have a bad habit of not watching the whole video before sending it and realizing the other half was not so great.”
Another 3% said in their open-ended responses that they use news to make decisions or improve their lives. One person specifically pointed out being informed when voting: “Be able to make informed choices about who you choose to represent you.”
Note: Here are our survey questions, the detailed responses and the methodology.
