Most Americans (69%) say they are following news about the candidates for the 2024 presidential election very or fairly closely. And 73% say they have seen inaccurate news coverage about the election at least somewhat often.
Learn more about: Where Americans turn for election news | How Americans feel about election coverage
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About three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they often or sometimes get local news from friends, family and neighbors.
The share of adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has grown about fivefold since 2020, from 3% to 17% in 2024.
Social media plays a crucial role in Americans’ news consumption, with about one-third of adults saying they regularly get news on Facebook and YouTube.
How Americans get news has greatly changed in the 21st century. Most now use digital devices for news at least sometimes. Read about the platforms they turn to.
We took a closer look at how Americans’ views and experiences have evolved on a variety of topics over the last 20 years.
Roughly three-quarters of adults (77%) say they often or sometimes get local news and information about crime.
Most U.S. adults say they are interested in several types of local crime coverage, but far fewer say this information is easy to find.
TikTok users under 30 see its impact on democracy more positively than older users, with 45% of this group saying it’s mostly good for American democracy.
Most U.S. adults follow news about local government and politics, yet only a quarter are highly satisfied with the quality of coverage.
X is still more of a news destination than these other platforms, but the vast majority of users on all four see news-related content.
More Americans now prefer to get local news online, while fewer turn to TV or print. And most say local news outlets are important to their community.
U.S.-born Latinos mostly get their news in English and prefer it in English, while immigrant Latinos have much more varied habits.
Thousands of guests appeared on the top-ranked podcasts in 2022, but a relatively small number accounted for a majority of appearances. 76% of top-ranked podcasts brought on at least one guest in 2022, and 27% almost always or regularly featured guests.
Black Americans see a range of problems with how Black people are covered in the news. Almost two-thirds of Black adults (63%) say news about Black people is often more negative than news about other racial and ethnic groups. And while few are optimistic that will change in the foreseeable future, many see ways in which that coverage could be improved.
© 2024 Pew Research Center
