One in 5 U.S. adults regularly get news through TikTok. Among young people aged 20 and under, 4 in 10 use TikTok as a channel for consuming news, showing the growing influence of social media.

On Nov. 1 (local time), Japanese media outlet GIGAZINE reported that the Pew Research Center said 20 percent of respondents regularly get news on TikTok, based on a survey of 5,166 U.S. adults conducted from Aug. 24 to 30. That is a sharp increase from 3 percent in 2020 over six years. It was unchanged from last year at 20 percent.

The age gap was clear. Some 39 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 said they regularly watch news on TikTok. The share was 25 percent for those aged 30 to 49, 11 percent for those aged 50 to 64 and 4 percent for those aged 65 and older. Younger adults are more active in using TikTok for news consumption.

Limiting the survey to TikTok users pushes the share even higher. Some 53 percent of U.S. adults who use TikTok said they regularly get news on the platform.

That is more than double the 22 percent in 2020. It was slightly lower than 55 percent last year, but was similar to the shares for Facebook and X (Twitter) users who consume news at 57 percent.

YouTube had the highest overall platform usage rate at 84 percent. Facebook was at 70 percent, Instagram at 51 percent and TikTok at 37 percent. TikTok was higher than WhatsApp at 33 percent, LinkedIn at 31 percent, Reddit at 25 percent and X at 18 percent.

But when comparing news consumption channels among all U.S. adults, Facebook led TikTok, at 40 percent, and YouTube was at 34 percent. Instagram was at 23 percent, TikTok at 20 percent and X at 10 percent.

The influence of individuals active on social media is also growing. In a separate Pew Research Center survey, 21 percent of U.S. adults said they regularly get information from news influencers who cover current affairs issues.

Traditional news consumption is also changing. In 2026, 59 percent of U.S. adults said they get news on social media at least sometimes.

The survey shows that short videos and social media, especially among younger generations, are becoming major channels for news distribution.