Pew Finds A Third Of Social Media’s New Influencers Are Also Podcasters.

In the wake of the 2024 election in which podcasters played a larger role than in prior cycles, Pew Research Center has released a new report that explores how new influencers on social media are reaching the public. Pew says one in three (34%) of news influencers share content through podcasts, with many unaffiliated with traditional news outlets — just 23% of news influencers studied are currently or were previously employed by a news organization.

About half of all news influencers on YouTube (49%) also host a podcast, slightly higher than the share on any other major social media site studied. Pew notes that about half of top-ranked podcasts also have a video component, often on YouTube.

YouTubers’ embrace of podcasting compares to 44% of Facebook news influencers who host a podcast, which is roughly even with the 43% of Instagram news influencers that do. TikTok and X/Twitter influencers were less likely to be podcasters, although Pew says 37% of both platforms host a podcast.

The survey of news influencers — defined as people who regularly post about current events and civic issues on social media and have at least 100,000 followers on a social media platform — shows a clear majority (63%) of news influencers are men. It also found that slightly more explicitly identify with the political right than the left. About half of news influencers in Pew’s study (52%) publicly express a political orientation in their social media profile, posts, personal and professional websites or media coverage — with names like radio hosts and podcasters Dan Bongino and Ben Shapiro among those cited.

“News influencers have emerged as one of the key alternatives to traditional outlets as a news and information source for a lot of people, especially younger folks. And these influencers have really reached new levels of attention and prominence this year amid the presidential election,” says Pew’s Galen Stocking. “We thought it was really important to look at who is behind some of the most popular accounts — the ones that aren’t news organizations, but actual people.”

Pew’s survey also finds that about one-in-five U.S. adults — including a much higher share of 18- to 29-year-olds (37%) — say they regularly get news from influencers on social media. Among Americans who get news from them, two-thirds (65%) say news influencers on social media have helped them better understand current events and civic issues.

These Americans also say they get a variety of different types of information, from basic facts and opinions to funny posts and breaking news. The Pew report says when it comes to opinions, most who see them say they are an even mix of opinions they agree and disagree with (61%), but far more say they mostly agree with what they see (30%) than mostly disagree (2%).

The Pew report is based on a survey of over 10,000 U.S. adults and their experiences with news influencers, along with an analysis of 500 news influencers across five major social media sites and their posts.

Download the full report HERE.