Americans Prioritize TikTok As Their Go-To News Source Despite Misinformation Risks: Survey Reveals

Despite almost daily reports about social media sites filled with misinformation and disinformation content, a steady group of U.S. adults continues to rely on ByteDance-owned TikTok for their daily dose of information. 

What Happened: Last year, a study revealed that five in 10 U.S. adults use social media sites to get news despite reports terming them a hotbed of misinformation. 

Now, a new study published on Wednesday has disclosed that a small but growing number of U.S. adults are regularly getting their news on TikTok, which is contrary to other social media platforms where either news consumption has reduced or remained stagnant. 

See Also: TikTok’s New Feature: Users Can Save Viral Songs To Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Directly

According to this latest report, the share of American adults getting regular news from this Chinese short-video-sharing app has more than quadrupled in just three years. In 2020, it was 3%, and in 2023, it has reached 14%. 

In June 2023, it was reported that 20% of young adults now rely on TikTok to stay informed about current events. The report also mentioned that since 2018, people have notably reduced access to news via websites or apps, but the younger demographic is inclining toward social media platforms, search engines, and mobile aggregators. 

Why It’s Important: The trend of people using TikTok for news consumption is filled with concerns. 

Previously, Felix Richter of Statista noted that this trend is regardless of the widespread consensus that social media was used to influence the past two U.S. Presidential elections.

Moreover, TikTok’s popularity has already been scrutinized over its parent company’s ties with the Chinese government. In May earlier this year, Montana became the first state to implement a complete ban on the sales and use of the app.

Just earlier this month, it was reported that legislators have been demanding a TikTok ban, citing pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel content on the platform. 

Photo by Diego Thomazini on Shutterstock

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