Do you ever get your news from social media?
Polls
26th July 2022
MORE and more people – but especially younger ones – are using TikTok as their main source of news, even though a majority don’t think it’s a reliable source.
That was one of the findings from a survey carried out by Ofcom, which regulates TV stations, as well as phone and internet providers.
Among teenagers, Instagram is now the most popular news source, used by 29% in that age group. TikTok follows close behind on 28%, but has seen the largest increase in the last two years.
For those who use TikTok for news, only 24% say they get the news from proper news organisations on the app, such as the channels launched on there by the BBC and Sky News. A much larger 44% say they just get the news from “other people they follow” on TikTok.
However, although TikTok is increasingly popular as a news source, only 30% of young people say they trust the news they get from the app.
The survey is also bad news for Facebook, as only 22% of teens get their news from there now, compared to 34% in 2018.
Many people are worried about the increase in fake news and misinformation, as it can have serious real-life consequences, such as the protest at the Capitol building in America last year. It started due to false claims that Joe Biden had “stolen” the election, and led to the deaths of several people. False claims about the Covid pandemic have also led to large numbers of people refusing to wear masks or take life- saving vaccines.
To find out more about what fake news is and how to spot it, head to first.news/fakenews
What do you think? Leave a comment for a chance to feature in First News!
26 Comments
annalls · 2 years ago
On social media people post random things and you can't trust that the things that they are sharing is true. Whereas on TV if you are saying something untrue, lots of people can see it and recognise that it is a lie and it is hard to be on TV reporting if most of what you say is untrue. TV is definitely more reliable.
cjlion · 2 years ago
First to comment!
swiftiecat · 2 years ago
Not really, because I don't have a phone yet, but sometimes my older sister tells me some news from her phone.
chaem17 · 2 years ago
I normally get my news from trustworthy places like BBC News, or First News! But sometimes if I am watching things like tiktok, or youtube shorts, I stumble across information accidentally, without meaning to, and I learn something new that day.
joke · 2 years ago
I don't get my news from social media because there is lots of fake news spreading around, so people could be tricked into believing it, so I get my news from reliable sources, such as the BBC.
lauren_123 · 2 years ago
I never get my news from social media unless it is from a account made by the BBC or another verified news account. I get my news by watching news channels on TV, or by news websites and also I mostly get my news by reading First News.
first@news · 2 years ago
Nope
uniquestar · 2 years ago
As a child I get all my news from reading First News
lilzo · 2 years ago
I don't get news on social media because my parents don't let me have any thing like tick tock and stuff but if I did I would get news from it
max1234 · 2 years ago
The thing is, social media isn’t always reliable. There’s always this person who spreads bad news like a cold.
max1234 · 2 years ago
I don’t even have social media.
irem · 2 years ago
I mainly get my news from First News every week and my family watches BBC News on TV every evening which I watch, but sometimes I will search up news on the internet, especially things my friends tell me about.
sircheese · 2 years ago
I do sometimes get news about TV shows, videogames, etc from social media but I get all my news about everything else from the TV.
robloxblue · 2 years ago
I never ever get my news from social media because i do not have social media, and also, it could be filled with rumours that have not happened before or are fake.
pridas.20 · 2 years ago
The news on tiktok is not always nice
stingray1 · 2 years ago
I can't get news from social media because I don't have a phone. I use my mums for entering first news polls and competitions.
stingray1 · 2 years ago
I mainly get it from First News!!!
rats4life · 2 years ago
Sometimes, yes I do get news from social media but most of the time it is uninteresting such as skittles being banned and sometimes fake news. We saw a lot of fake news during COVID because people wanted attention and to be seen as smart.
ronia123 · 2 years ago
I get most of my news from first news and TV
plopbecker · 2 years ago
I learn facts from it but rarely news. I check it every night on red button. Sometimes I do see news but it is usually about North Korea or the end of the world. I can usually see this is fake
luckywolf · 2 years ago
Sometimes I get my news on social media, like TikTok, Instagram etc. But I don’t rely on it too heavily; sometimes the information you get are really unreliable but other times, I get uncertain whether it’s true or not because people do post random stuff. Probably should rely on newspapers rather than social media.
dolphin26 · 2 years ago
No, because I don't have any means of social media, nor tiktok, instagram, twitter, facebook...
;D
micrad · 2 years ago
I personally never get any news from social media because I am aware that there is lots of fake news going around. I get all of my news from First News and BBC news but I know that my dad sometimes uses official social media news channels.
ginny09876 · 2 years ago
I get my news from FirstNews.
tigerlord · 2 years ago
I get sport news from youtube.
jmmousie · 2 years ago
I don't think it's safe.