Instagram Close to Overtaking Twitter as a News Source: STUDY

Instagram is set to overtake Twitter as a news source, new research from Reuters suggests.

Source: Reuters Institute

The 2020 Reuters Institutes Digital News report found that the photo-sharing social media platform has doubled since since 2018, reads a new report from BBC.

The data shows that the trend is driven primarily by younger consumers, with almost a quarter of 18-24-year-olds in the UK using Instagram as a source for COVID-19-related news.

However, the data also shows that social media platforms are some of the least-trusted news sources, with just 26 percent of people confiding in news found on social media. Government and news organizations, on the other hand, were trusted by 59 percent of survey respondents.

The survey shows that Instagram is used by more than a third of all respondents, while two thirds of under-25 respondents use the platform.

“Instagram’s become very popular with younger people”, said Nic Newman, lead author of the report. “They really respond well to stories that are told simply and well with visual images.”

Surprisingly enough, 11 percent of respondents say they use Instagram as a news source, while 12 percent use Twitter as a news source.

“It’s not that one necessarily replaces the other,” Mr Newman said. “They might use Facebook and Instagram, or might use Twitter and Instagram.”

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.