**Study Reveals Increasing Reliance of Americans on Online Influencers for News, With Majority Being Men Leaning Conservative**
More Americans are sourcing their news from online influencers, according to a recent study that shows these creators are mainly male and more inclined toward conservative views.
On Monday, Pew Research **[published a comprehensive study](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/11/18/americas-news-influencers/)** exploring news influencers in the U.S. The research indicated that 21% of U.S. adults—and a significant 37% of those below 30—regularly obtain news from social media influencers. The findings also emphasized that most of these influencers are men with a tendency to hold conservative opinions.
Pew reported that 63% of news influencers are male. Politically, 27% of these influencers categorized themselves as right-leaning, while 21% identified as left-leaning. Notably, 48% of influencers did not clearly define their political alignment.
The high percentage of influencers without a specific political viewpoint might relate to how Pew classified a “news influencer.” Pew defined a news influencer as **”[Individuals] who regularly post about current events and civic issues on social media and have at least 100,000 followers on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), or YouTube. These influencers can be journalists, either presently or formerly affiliated with news organizations, or independent content creators, but they must be individuals, not organizations.”**
From the 500 notable news influencers included in this study, 23% either were or had been part of the news industry. These current or former journalists tended to sidestep overt political bias. Conversely, the majority of influencers without a journalism experience usually displayed a political inclination.
The study also delivered some captivating insights specific to platforms. For example, Facebook exhibited a notably higher ratio of conservative influencers, with 39% identifying as conservative versus only 13% as liberal. In contrast, TikTok demonstrated a more even split in both gender and political representation. On TikTok, 45% of news influencers were women, and 50% were men. Politically, 28% leaned liberal while 25% leaned conservative.
Pew’s findings are consistent with **[other reports](https://www.wired.com/story/trump-campaign-influencers-election-day/)** suggesting a burgeoning ecosystem of right-wing influencers, a trend that has become especially prominent as the 2024 election approaches.