One thing we’re finding in our research: Many people feel they’re in a constant negotiation with information. Every day we’re asked to decide what to trust, what to ignore, and what deserves our attention. That’s a lot.
Kat Matsa
@katmatsa.bsky.social
News & Information researcher & data enthusiast | Director @pewresearch.org | Greek Athenian
New today from @pewresearch.org and the Pew-Knight Initiative: Americans don't split neatly into "engaged" and "disengaged." We found four distinct groups based on how people take part in public life 🧵 @knightfoundation.org
A thought from a recent panel on the future of news at the Embassy of Austria 🇦🇹 Our @pewresearch.org research keeps showing this: when people feel their local journalists are genuinely embedded in their community, they rate their local media more positively. 🧵
New in @niemanlab.org: A quiet shift in how Americans perceive local news. Local news was long the exception — trusted across party lines, insulated from the polarization reshaping national news. Our @pewresearch.org data suggests that may be changing 🧵 www.niemanlab.org/2026/07/a-qu...
A quiet shift in how Americans perceive local news
Local news was a space seemingly insulated from political polarization. That's changing.
niemanlab.org
As Politico moves into Australia, our @pewresearch.org survey data show that about half of adults have heard of Politico and 8% say they regularly get news there — with differences by party.
We talk a lot about “media literacy” — but do people actually experience checking the news as a skill they’ve mastered? What people describe instead often sounds like a stream of everyday judgments, made under uncertainty. That gap feels worth paying attention to.
One thing I keep noticing: “Do your own research” has become a near‑universal norm about the news. But people mean very different things by it — and that difference matters.
Heading to Miami for #KMF26 — always a highlight for anyone thinking about the future of news and civic info. Excited to share new @pewresearch.org insights across three sessions this year. ✨ @knightfoundation.org
In @niemanlab.org predictions for journalism 2026, I share 3 forces shaping news: 1️⃣ AI as a news interface 2️⃣ Influencers as anchors 3️⃣ Trust gaps in a polarized world At @pewresearch.org ✔️ 38% of adults <30 get news from influencers ✔️ Trust in national news is declining ✔️ AI adoption is coming fast
Nieman Lab@niemanlab.org · 8mo ago@katmatsa.bsky.social: “For many younger audiences, the ‘news anchor’ is now a TikTok personality, a YouTube commentator, or a podcaster with a loyal following.” www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/ai-s...
💔Are Americans breaking up with news? @colbertlateshow.bsky.social called out the trend. "In 2016, 51% of Americans said they follow the news all/most of the time. Now it’s 36%." youtu.be/DF1NjFbhXY4?... That stat? Our new @pewresearch.org data-decline spans every age group. 📊Read: pewrsr.ch/3QvVY2I
Jen Psaki's Advice For Republicans: Repeat The Message Coming Out Of The White House
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
What does the future of news look like? Our new @pewresearch.org study shows young adults stand out: • Follow news less closely • Get news incidentally—esp. via social media • Trust social media as much as national news orgs • Have a broader definition of “journalist” Full report → pewrsr.ch/4rFixD0
Young Adults and the Future of News
U.S. adults under 30 follow news less closely than any other age group. And they’re more likely to get (and trust) news from social media.
pewresearch.org
📊 New @pewresearch.org data on news + social media: • 20% of U.S. adults regularly get news on TikTok (3% in 2020) • Under-30s: 43% • 55% of TikTok users get news on the app 🔗 pewrsr.ch/49Er7sE Other sites: Facebook (38%), YouTube (35%), Instagram (20%), X (12%), Bluesky (2%) 🔗 pewrsr.ch/46zu9h4
1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020
Among adults under 30, 43% say they regularly get news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
pewrsr.ch
Today we released a major @pewresearch.org survey of LGBTQ adults looking at: ▶️ Views of social acceptance for LGBTQ people ▶️ Personal experiences with acceptance, discrimination ▶️ Experiences with coming out ▶️ Identity ▶️ Community, friends and LGBTQ spaces Read on for findings from each section.
The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today
How lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adults view the impact of Obergefell and social acceptance for LGBTQ people more broadly 10 years after the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex...
pewresearch.org
We shared insights from a few @pewresearch.org studies at this year’s #AAPOR25 on how people get news. Sharing if anyone wants to dive deeper! • What’s news: pewrsr.ch/4m7tpXf • Getting news on TikTok, X, Facebook & IG: www.pewresearch.org?p=169348 • The rise of news influencers: pewrsr.ch/4emDUB2
How Americans Get News on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram
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.
pewresearch.org
Being at #AAPOR this week reminded me what a great resource this is: @pewresearch.org free short course on the basics of public opinion polling. Clear, accessible & super useful for anyone trying to make sense of polls. Check it out: www.pewresearch.org/course/publi...
Public Opinion Polling Basics
How do polls work? What are the different kinds of polls? And what should you look for in a high-quality opinion poll? A Pew Research Center survey methodologist answers these questions and more in si...
pewresearch.org
‼️ I am so proud of this work. A thorough analysis of what is news. 👏 Kudos to @kirstenaeddy.bsky.social for leading the project for over a year!
Kirsten Eddy, Ph.D.@kirstenaeddy.bsky.social · last yr.And just like that, over a year of work from our team is out in the world! Our latest @pewresearch.org data essay, part of the Pew-Knight Initiative, explores how Americans decide what "news" means to them – and how it fits into their lives in the digital era. www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...
🌟 Excited for #AAPOR next week! 📅 Thurs May 15 ⏰8:30–10:00 AM📍Regency B Presenting: Media Trust & Info Quality in the Digital Age 📅 Fri May 16 ⏰8:30–10:00 AM📍Midway Suite 3/4 Moderating: Designing & Assessing Surveys about Pol Opinion Lots of @pewresearch.org folks will be there. Let’s connect!
Republicans tend to have much less trust in national news organizations than Democrats do. But the groups are largely aligned in their views of the impact of AI on news and journalism. www.pewresearch.org/...
Americans largely foresee AI having negative effects on news, journalists
About six-in-ten Americans (59%) say AI will lead to fewer jobs for journalists in the next two decades.
pewresearch.org
🚨 As the NPR/PBS funding debate continues, here’s @pewresearch.org data: 🔹 43% of Americans support the funding to continue 🔹 24% oppose it 🔹 33% unsure 🔹 20% get news from NPR; 21% from PBS 📝 In all questions, there are clear partisan splits. More data here: pewrsr.ch/41Mldne
Americans more likely to support than oppose continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS
Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to support ending federal funding for public media.
pewrsr.ch
The call for papers for the APSA Political Communication Preconference in Vancouver is now open! Together with @ashleymuddiman.bsky.social and @patyrossini.bsky.social, we're thrilled to invite your submissions. 📅: May 25th, 2025, 11.59pm PDT (GMT-7) More information: u.osu.edu/apsa2025/
2025 Political Communication APSA Preconference
u.osu.edu
🌟Join my team @pewresearch.org & get a hands-on w/ data analysis & research tasks!🌟 💼🏠Heads up: staff expected in our D.C. office on Tues & Wed, & remote the rest of the week. Apply, share with your network or tag someone who'd be a perfect fit! pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
Research Assistant, News & Information
Position Summary Pew Research Center has an immediate need for a Research Assistant to support its News & Information research agenda. The Research Assistant will be part of the News & Informa...
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
📢 Join us for a free virtual event on news influencers! 🗓️ Feb 6, 12 PM EST 🎤 Moderated by @makenakelly.bsky.social ft Mosheh Oinounou & Raven Schwam-Curtis 📊 @gstocking.bsky.social will present findings from the Pew-Knight Initiative research 👉 Register here: tinyurl.com/563net2h
🚫SCOTUS green-lights #TikTokBan. Read our research showing TikTok turned into a news hub for 52% of its users-without relying solely on traditional journos & often mixing news with celebrity gossip, humor & memes. The news landscape has been shifting. 💡More findings here➡️https://pewrsr.ch/3PG3Hdx
In Philly for #APSA! My personal favorite the PolComm pre conference, organized by the amazing @dannagal.bsky.social! Come say hi, especially if you have ideas/opinions about research we should be doing 📊‼️
On World Press Freedom day, majority of Americans see the press as highly important to society’s well-being. But many express concerns about potential restrictions in the US – say that political & financial interests have a lot of influence on news orgs. www.pewresearch.org?p=141366
Most Americans say a free press is highly important to society
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, 73% of U.S. adults say the freedom of the press is extremely or very important to the well-being of society.
pewresearch.org
🚨As TikTok continues to redefine social media with its captivating short-form videos, our data show that few are those who actually post videos: 📊 About half of all U.S. adults on the site have never posted a video themselves. www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...
How U.S. Adults Use TikTok
Around half of adult TikTok users in the U.S. have never posted a video themselves. And a minority of users produce the vast majority of content.
pewresearch.org
🚀Exciting news! Introducing the Pew-Knight Initiative, a collaboration btwn Pew Research Center & @knightfdn.bsky.social committing 20M in research. 🚨Explore the ins and outs: pewrsr.ch/3OR160j 📰 Press release: knightfoundation.org/press/releases… 📌 Bookmark this page: pewresearch.org/pew-knight/
Introducing the Pew-Knight Initiative
The Pew-Knight Initiative will deliver a comprehensive, real-time look at the information landscape from the standpoints of both consumers and producers of news.
pewrsr.ch
📢 New data: More Americans are turning to TikTok for their news fix The share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023. pewrsr.ch/49Er7sE
More Americans are getting news on TikTok, bucking the trend seen on most other social media sites
In just three years, the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023.
pewrsr.ch