Where people get news now: social, video and AI.

The Reuters Institute's 2026 survey of 97,520 people in 48 markets shows where news reaches people now, and how fast AI chatbots are growing as a source.

Key findings

54%use social media and video networks for news (48 markets)
51%use news organizations' own websites and apps
10%use AI chatbots for news every week, up from 7% a year earlier
16%of people under 35 use AI chatbots for news
Download the PDF Free, no sign-up. 6 pages.

Short answer: Social media and video networks are now used for news by 54% of people across 48 markets, ahead of news organizations' own websites and apps (51%). Weekly use of AI chatbots for news rose from 7% to 10% in a year, and to 16% among people under 35.1 An article in a respected outlet now reaches most readers through other places: a social feed, a creator, a search result or an AI answer.

Social and video overtook news sites

Across the 48 markets in the Digital News Report 2026, 54% of people used social media and video networks for news, compared with 51% for news organizations' own websites and apps. Counting AI chatbots with the platforms, the figure is 56%.1

Where people get news

Share of people who use each for news, 48 markets, 2026

Social media and video networks54%
News websites and apps51%
News-focused creators or influencers27%
News podcasts11%
AI chatbots (every week)10%

Source: Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2026 (97,520 people in 48 markets).

AI chatbots: small, but growing fast

Weekly use of AI chatbots for news rose from 7% to 10% in one year, and 16% of people under 35 now use them for news.1 When they do, 42% say they always or often click through to the source, compared with 36% for social media and 44% for search.1

Search is changing too. In a Pew Research Center study of 900 US adults' browsing in March 2025, 18% of Google searches showed an AI summary, and people who saw one clicked a regular search result in 8% of visits, against 15% for people who didn't.2 More on this in what AI assistants cite.

How often people click through to the source

Always or often click through, among people who use each for news

Search44%
AI chatbots42%
Social media36%

Source: Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2026.

Creators and podcasts

Around a quarter of people (27%) get some news from news-focused creators or influencers, and almost half (46%) get some news from creators of any type. News podcasts reach 11%, unchanged from last year.1

Avoidance and trust

The share of people who say they avoid the news was essentially flat at 42%, and trust in news overall fell to 37%.1 Readers who do see your story are more likely to meet it outside a news site, next to other content competing for their attention.

What it means for your coverage

  • An article is the start, not the end. Most readers won't visit the outlet's homepage. Share the article where your audience already is: LinkedIn, your newsletter, your website.
  • Write for the summary. AI chatbots and search summaries repeat clear facts. Articles with a plain explanation of what you do, with numbers, travel further.
  • Respected outlets still anchor it. Social posts, creators and AI answers link back to articles. The original article is what they cite.

How we did this

The figures come from the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026 (published June 2026), an online survey of 97,520 people across 48 markets, about 2,000 per market, and from a Pew Research Center analysis of the browsing data of 900 US adults who searched Google in March 2025. Figures across 48 markets are averages; individual countries differ.

Questions

Where do most people get their news now?

Across 48 markets, 54% use social media and video networks for news, slightly more than the 51% who use news organizations' websites and apps (Reuters Institute, 2026).

How many people use AI chatbots for news?

10% use AI chatbots for news every week, up from 7% a year earlier, and 16% of people under 35 (Reuters Institute, 2026).

Do people click through from AI answers?

Among people who use AI chatbots for news, 42% say they always or often click through to the source, compared with 44% for search and 36% for social media (Reuters Institute, 2026).

Sources

  1. Digital News Report 2026: Executive Summary, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
  2. Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results, Pew Research Center.

How to cite this report

Edamame PR & Strategy, “Where people get news now: social, video, creators and AI.” edamamepr.com/research/where-people-get-news/

You may quote any number from this report with a link to this page. For the full data, see the sources above.

Want articles that travel? We place founders and companies in respected publications, at a fixed price per article and with no retainer. Tell us about your company →

More research.

Official data8.4 to 1PR specialists and managers per journalist in the USPR people per journalist: the US job numbersRead the report Official data64.3%of EB-2 NIW petitions denied in FY2025 Q4 (6.6% in FY2022 Q1)EB-1A and EB-2 NIW in numbers: filings, backlogs and denialsRead the report Public data84%of the links AI assistants cite come from earned mediaWhat ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cite: press coverage and AI searchRead the report

All research reports →

Let’s tell
your story.

Ready for the online presence your company deserves, without the risk? Tell us a little about it.