Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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The landscape of local news in the U.S. has changed significantly in recent decades as Americans have been turning away from print and television and toward digital media. In 2025, 21% of Americans say they follow local news very closely, down from 37% in 2016.
When a breaking news event happens, 36% of U.S. adults say they typically turn first to their preferred news organization to get more information.
Three-in-ten U.S. adults say they at least sometimes get news from newsletters, but many don’t read most of the newsletters they get.
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U.S. adults are mostly against government action that could limit people’s ability to access and publish information online. There is more support for steps by technology companies.
Read key findings and watch a video about our new study on how bot accounts affect the mix of content on Twitter.
Facebook and YouTube dominate the social media landscape. But younger Americans, especially those ages 18 to 24, stand out in using a variety of platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter.
An analysis of 9.7 million tweets reveals that news organizations played the largest role in which content was linked to in discussions about immigration compared with other information providers.
A global median of 75% want their news media to be unbiased when covering political issues, yet many say the news media do a poor job of reporting on political issues fairly.
About a quarter of all U.S. adults get news from two or more social media sites, up from 15% in 2013 and 18% in 2016.
News stories about the beginning of Trump administration’s presidency that included one of his tweets were more likely to have an overall negative assessment.
Read 10 key findings from recent Pew Research Center reports about today’s digital news media landscape.
Overall, 36% of Americans get science news at least a few times a week and three-in-ten actively seek it. Most get science news from general news outlets, but more see specialty sources as being accurate.
People deal in varying ways with tensions about what information to trust and how much they want to learn. Some are interested and engaged with information; others are wary and stressed.
