The news: US adults are increasingly dependent on digital platforms for news, with social media and video overtaking traditional news outlets for the first time.

• 54% of US adults get their news from social media, per the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report, compared with 50% from TV news and 48% from news websites and apps.
• However, trust in that news is flagging—about three-quarters (73%) are worried they can’t distinguish what’s true from what’s false with online news.

Diversifying sources: News consumption on social media isn’t limited to one dominant platform, indicating that consumers’ attention is fragmented and making it more difficult for outlets to capture and retain attention in a centralized way.

• Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) lead the charge in social media news consumption.
• 19% use Instagram and WhatsApp, and TikTok (16%) outpaces X (12%).

Many of those platforms—especially Facebook, Instagram, and X—have loosened content moderation this year, making feeds more vulnerable to misinformation. Inaccurate content reposted alongside legitimate news stories or brand posts could confuse users and hurt brand reputation.

Linear losses: Radio and linear TV news are on the decline for both news consumption and general viewership as audiences switch to on-demand streaming and podcasts.

• Streaming watch time overtook cable and broadcast in May for the first time ever, per Nielsen.
• 15% of adults get their news from podcasts, which are especially popular with “younger, better-educated audiences,” compared with 13% for linear radio, per Reuters Institute.

AI involvement: AI chatbots and search tools are a growing source of information, though usage remains low—only 7% of US adults and 15% of Gen Zers under 25 use them weekly to get news.

• Globally, 27% of adults are interested in AI news summaries and 24% want AI that can translate stories into different languages.
• Just 4% used ChatGPT for news in the previous week, compared with 2% for Google Gemini and AI Overviews, and 1% for Perplexity.

Trust issues remain: Confidence in accuracy and honesty in news is shaky.

• 30% of US adults trust the news most of the time, compared with 40% globally.
• The share of respondents who think AI will make news less transparent and accurate was 8 percentage points lower than those who trust human journalists more.

Our take: Linear platforms could offer personalized news digests and mobile- and social- friendly content to reengage younger users, while advertisers should diversify their campaigns across social media platforms to follow fragmented user engagement.

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