Social Media Surpasses Traditional Outlets as the World's Primary News Source

For the first time in history, the way humanity learns about the world has fundamentally flipped. Social media and video networks have officially surpassed both television and traditional news websites to become the most widely used sources of global news.[1][3]

The findings come from the 2026 Digital News Report, published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. Based on surveys of nearly 100,000 people across 48 markets, the annual study marks a definitive turning point in the digital information age.[1][2]

According to the data, 54% of global audiences now use social platforms and video networks to access news on a weekly basis. This edges out television, which sits at 52%, and direct visits to news organizations' own websites or apps, which have fallen to 51%.[3][4]

Media researchers characterize this shift as the intensifying "platformisation" of news. The transition is not necessarily driven by explosive new growth in social media usage, but rather by the steady, structural decline of legacy habits.[1][3]

Since 2020, the use of television news and direct news websites has dropped by 13 and 12 percentage points, respectively. As audiences migrate away from these traditional formats, they are increasingly relying on algorithmic discovery.[2][4]

This migration has fundamentally changed the nature of how information is encountered. Instead of actively seeking out a broadcast or navigating to a specific publication's homepage, users increasingly consume news passively while scrolling through entertainment and social updates.[1][6]

This passive discovery has elevated a new class of information gatekeepers. Almost half of global respondents now report getting some of their news from independent creators and influencers, rather than institutional journalists.[1][6]

Audiences report that individual creators feel more relatable, authentic, and easier to understand than traditional news anchors. While respondents acknowledge that influencers may be less impartial, the engaging format of online video often outweighs the desire for strict neutrality.[1][4]

However, the shift to social media is not uniform across the globe. In 30 of the 48 surveyed markets—particularly in the Global South, including countries like Indonesia and Thailand—social platforms now dominate the information ecosystem.[2][3]

Conversely, direct news websites and apps still maintain their lead in 18 markets. These holdouts are heavily concentrated in Northern Europe, the United Kingdom, and parts of Asia like Japan and South Korea, where strong public broadcasters and established subscription habits anchor the media landscape.[3]

Beyond social media, a new third-party intermediary is rapidly gaining ground. The 2026 report highlights the first meaningful integration of artificial intelligence into daily news habits, with 10% of global respondents now using AI chatbots for news weekly.[2][5]

When AI chatbots are factored in alongside social media and video networks, the combined share of audiences relying on third-party platforms for news rises to 56%. This further distances publishers from their audiences, complicating how journalism is funded and distributed.[2][3]

This structural transformation arrives alongside a crisis of credibility. Global trust in news has fallen to 25%, its lowest point since the Reuters Institute began tracking the metric in 2015.[1][2]

Audiences are increasingly skeptical of the information they consume, yet they continue to rely on the very algorithmic platforms that often blur the lines between verified reporting, opinion, and misinformation. As platforms, creators, and AI continue to redraw the boundaries of media, the definition of what constitutes a "news source" has been permanently altered.[1][6]