The American electorate is becoming more reliant on social media platforms to inform them on the key political matters that dictate their vote. According to their research published in 2024, the Pew Research Center reported that more than half of American adults (54%) received their news at least sometimes from social media, which continues an increased trend over the last decade. Facebook and YouTube are the most common social media sites where Americans receive their news. The remaining sites that vie for Americans’ political attention include Instagram (20%), TikTok (17%), and X, formerly known as Twitter (12%). Another commonly used site for younger generations includes Snapchat (5%). Interestingly, even though some sites have smaller audiences online, their viewers get the majority of their news from that site, which speaks to the specific influence some of these sites have on Americans using these apps. X is a prime example; 59% of X users get their news on that site. The same is true for Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform, where 57% of its users get their news primarily from that site. These numbers for both sites are increasing, with up to a 50% increase at Truth Social since 2023. The same report broke down the demographics of the users and how they consume news and politics. Women make up a majority of news consumers for sites like TikTok (62%), Facebook (60%), Snapchat (60%), and Instagram (59%). On the other hand, men made up large numbers of users on X (64%), Truth Social (58%), and YouTube (57%).
Other very telling statistics held specific political ramifications, such as 48% of news consumers on WhatsApp being Hispanic and LinkedIn having the largest number of news consumers being college educated (55%). These statistics speak to the cultural and socioeconomic divide in these different apps. There were also clear differences in political allegiances when it came to these sites. Truth Social news consumers were 88% Republicans, whereas Democrats made up a majority of users on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. So, what does all this data mean in terms of the effect of social media on American politics? The answer is that social media has assumed a huge role in American politics, with an effect we are only beginning to understand.
Many observers and experts have increasingly been sounding the alarm bell on the political polarization effect of social media in the U.S. Political experts Paul Barrett, Justin Hendrix, and Grant Sims have published their concerns in a recent Brookings Institution publication. They state: “Our central conclusion, based on a review of more than 50 social science studies and interviews with more than 40 academics, policy experts, activists, and current and former industry people, is that platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter likely are not the root causes of political polarization, but they do exacerbate it.” Partisanship is not a new concept in American politics. Some would say it is part of the DNA of politics in the U.S. However, studies have shown that social media appears to serve as an accelerant to further divide the opposing sides of the political spectrum, which includes mainly Democrats and Republicans. One of the primary tenets of social media platforms is to keep their users constantly engaged, to direct news consumers to eventually consume whatever is being advertised by corporations on the platforms. How do the social media platforms keep the mouse on that wheel? The answer is by creating AI-generated popularity-based algorithms that capture the attention of their users. The user is fed news that aligns with their politics, further polarizing the American public. These algorithms do not provide opposing views from other political parties, and most of them reinforce the personal politics of their users. The result is a digital echo chamber that Americans cannot escape.
When it comes to the actual content, putting aside the high emotions that are involved in the political exchanges that occur on these sites, there is also concern with the accuracy and truthfulness of the information shared. Unlike traditional news sites, which are held to a journalistic standard of vetting all information shared with no bias, social media sites have far less vigorous checks and balances.. According to Peter Suciu from Forbes magazine, “the bigger concern should be that by allowing and perhaps even promoting a ‘them versus us’ mentality, social media has effectively polarized populations by providing a constant stream of disinformation alongside biased, one-sided perspectives and outrage.” Even though some of the political information shared on social media is biased and one-sided, there is also a divide in the level of trust about the information from the different political parties. In a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, Republicans appear to have more trust in social media platform news delivery than in the past, with Donald Trump back in office after the 2024 Presidential Election. According to authors Elisa Shearer and Kirsten Eddy, who compiled the report, “They (Republicans) are now more likely than last year to say they have at least some trust in the information that comes from social media sites (45% vs. 37%, an 8-point increase). Republicans’ trust in social media has been increasing steadily since 2021, when 19% said they trust the information that comes from social media at least some … compared with 38% of Democrats”. There are even differences within the specific parties. Conservative Republicans are less likely than moderate/liberal Republicans to trust news from social media, and conservative/moderate Democrats are less likely to trust social media compared to liberal Democrats. There is also an age gap when it comes to news presented on social media. Only 28% of Americans older than 65 trust the information on these sites. The opposite is true for younger Americans. 54% of Americans ages 18 to 29 (the first generation to grow up with social media) have at least some trust in the news when it comes from social media, according to the same Pew Research Center report. If this is an accurate trend, then news from social media is here to stay.
What about how Americans feel about what social media means for democracy compared to other countries in the world? According to Richard Wike from the Pew Research Center, “There are substantial cross-national differences on this question, however, and the United States is a clear outlier: Just 34% of U.S. adults think social media has been good for democracy, while 64% say it has had a bad impact. In fact, the U.S. is an outlier on a number of measures, with larger shares of Americans seeing social media as divisive.” Wike also found differences in the political parties, stating that “Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party (74%) are much more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners (57%) to see the ill effects of social media on the political system.” Yet despite this data, larger and larger shares of Americans are turning to social media for their news. This likely means that Republicans and Democrats will be less and less likely to trust any news that is not in keeping with their political views, further polarizing Americans in the future. While some may argue that news can be accessed more readily via social media websites, it remains clear that this access has counterproductively created more divisions among Americans. As a result, even though social media has appeared to have created a more informed public, has it also created a more divided republic?
