Poll: Twitter / Facebook as a news source

[AlexB]

Cards on the table - I’m not a big fan of social media in general, Facebook just about works for me as an extended Friends Reunited, and Instagram does mean you can be fed nice images, but beyond that I’m a bit of a dinosaur as far as social media goes.

But I was wondering if in our age range (assuming most of us are not kids any more!) I was the norm in not even thinking of them as sources for news?

So quick poll - do you use Twitter / Facebook / other social media as a significant part of your news sources?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Hmm ... define "news" maybe? Or even more, define "source" ?

I mean, I get a lot of niche stuff from it. Certainly the go-to for wrestling stuff & music stuff for me. 90% or more of entertainment (tv/movie/etc) stuff I see is probably via social media, difference being that those are almost all passive exposures. One click on a FB/Twitter post and I'm usually as deep as I'll go on some story in any of those categories.

Hard/serious news? They're certainly an influence on me, there's stuff I see sooner (or at all) solely because of FB shares and retweets. But I'll depending on the depth I need to satisfy my interest I'm more likely to click-and-read then find additional sources, deeper dive, etc. So I might be prompted to explore by social media posts but I don't have it as my final primary information stream? So does that count or not count?

[GrantDawg]

I actually participated in a three month long survey on this mostly dealing with Facebook and Instagram. My answer is almost nothing on Facebook (maybe the occasional celebrity story, but I have muted people that post political stuff). On twitter I follow a number of reporters and media sources I trust. Anything someone links sketchy I try to confirm with other sources.

The question I have is if the news comes from reputable media, is that "getting news on twitter" or that being linked to news on twitter?

[albionmoonlight]

I think of that as "getting news on twitter."

If I would likely have not encountered the story but for social media, then I say that I "got that" on social media.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I think of that as "getting news on twitter."

If I would likely have not encountered the story but for social media, then I say that I "got that" on social media.

I agree. I think there are many people that get news from social media (especially from Facebook), what I see that as meaning is they get news from "memes." No authentic source, no verification, often misleading and easily disproven. We all know people that fits that discription. That is also the main source for Newsmax and OAN. They are like Facebook come to life.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

So I might be prompted to explore by social media posts but I don't have it as my final primary information stream? So does that count or not count?

This is where I am which is why I voted a significant amount. I take a pretty cursory glance at a couple national news websites and a couple of local sites in cites/ countries that are important to me in the morning. After that I will see things on twitter and go looking for more information through multiple sources if it is something I am interested in knowing more about.

[Ksyrup]

I'm with GD - FB is obviously lumped in with Twitter as social media, but I get almost no news from FB. Although I guess I consider it news in finding out who I know that I really don't want to get to know better...

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Hmm ... define "news" maybe? Or even more, define "source" ?

Fair point. I was thinking mostly about current affairs, hard news, politics, etc.

And as for the source: where do you go first to see what’s happening in the world?

The reason for the question is that my brother is becoming increasingly politically belligerent, and he uses Twitter as his primary source (as defined above), and my mum is getting increasingly anti-vax (not activist anti-vax, but definitely anti- taking the Covid vaccine) through one of her friend relaying her information she’s got from Facebook.

It’s just never occurred to me to go to either as the first port of call - neither are installed on my tablet or laptop. Both are on my phone, but I do use that mostly as a phone, camera and calendar.

The sources I use are the BBC as a relatively impartial source (nothing is truly without an agenda of some sort), Apple News and a news aggregator site to try and get opinions/information from different perspectives.

[AnalBumCover]

I would rather use FOFC as my news source.

[molson]

My Facebook is very finely tuned. I follow a lot of local organizations - news outlets, charities, neighborhood groups, niche interest groups, local venues, businesses, events, etc. Stuff that is real and immediate and local and part of my actual life. That and keeping up with friends and family and their photos is what I use it for. National and international news, for whatever reason, I don't want Facebook to really be the place. Stuff pops up if friends post it, but, I don't linger on it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by AlexB

And as for the source: where do you go first to see what’s happening in the world?

I'll split it up this way then:

Social media is an almost entirely passive source for me in terms of hard news, exceptions would be narrow & specific (i.e. my wife asks "did you hear anything about a fire at the mining company in my old hometown?" If I already had social open, I'd check the sites of her old hometown paper)

My social media feeds are populated with a high percentage of highly political people however, so I probably see 25-50 headlines a day minimum through their various shares. I rarely have to go looking for anything of that nature, it falls under my eye in large quantities.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

I would rather use FOFC as my news source.

I get a little bit of news from FOFC so I chose "a minority". My other news comes from Google News or other mainstream sites.

[Kodos]

I'm only on Facebook, and not very frequently. I've taken to just going directly to my friends' post using the "bell" feature. Saves me from seeing ads and other general stupidity that you find when scrolling down on Facebook. I really only use it to keep in touch with old friends.

[MIJB#19]

None. Aside from the fact that I have no interest in spending time on Facebook and/or Twitter, if for whatever reason I get 'news' through non-journalistic means, I'll make sure to check for an actual source for information. And if I'm still in doubt, for example if the media source has a dreadful reputation in source checking like CNN has, I'll make sure to check for a second news outlet.

[Thomkal]

I rarely use Facebook for any type of news. I use Twitter a lot-especially if something newsworthy politically in the US or outside the US for some event/person/tragedy I don't know enough about. I try to get a feel for who the people I follow/links to articles to share here/or get more info on something posted here before commenting.

And probably to no one's surprise here, I use Twitter for a lot of PC/Video gaming news as well as D&D and other roleplaying games news

[Lathum]

Need a choice between significant amount and minority. I'll often see a story on Twitter then go do some more research of my own on it. Facebook almost never, I want to see pictures of my friends kids and family.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

None. Aside from the fact that I have no interest in spending time on Facebook and/or Twitter, if for whatever reason I get 'news' through non-journalistic means, I'll make sure to check for an actual source for information. And if I'm still in doubt, for example if the media source has a dreadful reputation in source checking like CNN has, I'll make sure to check for a second news outlet.

For some reason your description of it finally gave me the word I was looking for earlier: Social media is primarily a prompt for me to look at more credible sources if something catches my attention.

[JediKooter]

Does Penthouse Forum count?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

Does Penthouse Forum count?

Only for those on the right since ever story begins " You're not going to believe this but I swear every word is true"

[rjolley]

For awhile, I was using Twitter to get more and more news, which I then followed up doing my own research if I was interested enough. Eventually, I stopped reading Twitter altogether. I tried to get more balanced news from following some people who I didn't necessarily agree with but could make intelligent arguments. What I discovered was that even those sources tended to link to the more sensationalized stories, whether for or against their point of view.

These days, I follow stories from here and catch headlines on the Google news feed. From there, I'll take a look at stories that I'm interested by googling the topic.

As always, I try to take what is said, try to figure out what angle their trying to push, and see if the story makes sense with other sources. Takes a lot more time, but allows me to process what's going on on my terms.

Unless it's how Mitch Trubisky is a bad QB or the Bulls are not a good team. Those are just facts.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Only for those on the right since ever story begins " You're not going to believe this but I swear every word is true"

That is a very good point! Didn't even think of that way, welp, going to have to tell my friend he should find a new news source.

[Drake]

Since about 2000, I've gotten most of my news from FOFC. I figure if it's important enough to notice, somebody here will make a post about it and then I go look it up.

If it doesn't meet FOFC's bar for news, then why would I care about it?

[Lathum]

Gonna need to change my answer after today

[Izulde]

I get almost my news from Facebook. Looks like I'm literally the only one. But I also carefully curate my experience there.

[Brian Swartz]

I don't personally, but there are a growing number who do. It's a rising phenomenon.

[Glengoyne]

I almost said none at all, butTwitter today did send me looking to google news to confirm that some were considering the 25th amendment. So, a minority. Definitely.