• Subscribe to our newsletter
The Media Online
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
The Media Online
No Result
View All Result
Home News

‘News influencers’ are racking up billions of views – and not checking their facts

The most recent Reuters Institute digital news report highlights the most influential voices in the US and UK, and found that both lists were dominated by radio, television and podcast hosts like Joe Rogan.

by Kelly Fincham
December 12, 2024
in News
0 0
0
‘News influencers’ are racking up billions of views – and not checking their facts

The work of many news influencers does not reflect the kind of work any traditional reporter would recognise/Yuri A/Shutterstock

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The way many people get their news today would be unrecognisable to broadsheet devotees of decades past. You may read email newsletters, scroll headlines on social media, or go directly to the BBC’s own TikTok account to find out what’s happening in the world.

Recent data from the nonpartisan American thinktank Pew Research Centre shows that a large number of Americans – one in five – get their news from social media “news influencers”. The figure jumps to almost one in four for under-30s.

In the UK, 43% of news consumers say they get their news online from non-traditional sources, including influencers, according to research by the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford.

Pew defines news influencers as people with more than 100 000 followers who consistently post news-related content on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube. These influencers are trusted by their followers as primary sources of information.

Partisan analysis

Some influencers are journalists affiliated (or formerly affiliated) with media organisations, but speaking directly to their audiences via their own social media channels or podcasts.

The most recent Reuters Institute digital news report highlights the most influential voices in the US and UK, and found that both lists were dominated by radio, television and podcast hosts like Joe Rogan.

Kevin Twomey, senior vice-president of marketing at NewsWhip, called news influencers “the new New York Times”. This assessment, however, is about their impact – not their reporting.

The work of many news influencers does not reflect the kind of work any traditional reporter would recognise. While trained journalists do the work of actually producing news content, influencers mostly talk about the content or provide their own (often partisan) analysis.

‘Revolutionise’ news consumption

Dylan Page, the young UK-based creator behind News Daddy on TikTok, describes his work as an effort to “revolutionise the way news is consumed”.

The “consumed” is key. Page is not making the news, but he is changing the way audiences consume it, by packaging complex stories into short-form videos. He’s expressive and casual and works hard to make current affairs feel engaging and conversational.

It’s clearly a winning combination. So far, he has attracted an audience of 13.7 million on TikTok with a staggering total of 1.1 billion likes all told. Legacy news organisations can only dream of that kind of reach.

Facts v followers

Influencers are trusted by their audiences because of the seemingly personal relationship they have. They feel like your friend, and appear authentic and more accessible than a suited-up newsreader behind a desk. But getting the news from influencers comes with risks.

A recent Unesco survey found that two-thirds of digital content creators failed to perform even basic fact-checking before sharing information. And the majority are unfamiliar with regulatory frameworks and international standards relating to digital communications.

About three-quarters of the news influencers (77%) Pew looked at have no past or present affiliation with a news organisation, while just 23% have been employed in the news industry in some way.

Without the training and resources of a traditional newsroom, or the accountability to the media regulator Ofcom, there are few safeguards when influencers share misinformation.

News, incidentally

Some influencers, like V Spehar who discusses the news on TikTok as Under the Desk, are trusted enough to serve as ambassadors to the Poynter foundation’s Mediawise initiative in the US. But Spehar is probably an outlier. As the Unesco report highlighted, most social media influencers are only sharing news incidentally, not dedicating their time to fact-checking, seeking out sources and reporting stories.

Journalism has long defined itself by a series of norms and routines, not least objectivity. Many social media influencers don’t consider themselves journalists – they’re sharing information about current events as part of building their online identity and engaging with their community.

They typically offer commentary and opinion on politics while presenting themselves as an alternative to mainstream media, which, they may claim, “suppresses the truth”.

There are also concerns about the lack of diversity in the influencer space. In the US, 63% of the influencers Pew examined are male, and more express a right-leaning political view than left-leaning.

More questions than answers

While new technology has historically disrupted traditional media, today’s social platforms are fundamentally altering the dynamics of reach and influence in ways that are still unknown.

As more people get their news from influencers, the amount of content circulating that potentially hasn’t been fact-checked will grow.

Ryan Broderick, journalist and author of the Garbage Day newsletter and host of the Panic World podcast, told me that this will make it even more difficult for people to access good-quality information.

In the past you may have read two or three complete news stories from different outlets about topic X and then watched a few TV segments on it. You’re now bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands, of posts and videos about the same topic. Which I do think creates a certain paranoia in people. You feel overwhelmed, but you’re also never really getting a complete narrative about it.

A lesson for us all would be to continue supporting traditional media organisations and local newsrooms – influencers may be engaging, but they can’t necessarily replicate the rigour of trained journalists.The Conversation


Kelly Fincham, Lecturer in Journalism and Communications, University of Galway

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


 

Tags: factfact checkingjournalismjournalistsKelly Finchamnewsnews influencerssocial mediaTikTokUniversity of Galway

Kelly Fincham

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

March 22, 2024
Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

May 17, 2023
Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

April 23, 2023
Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

February 22, 2018
Sowetan proves that sex still sells

Sowetan proves that sex still sells

105
It’s black. It’s beautiful. It’s ours.

Exclusive: Haffajee draws a line in the sand over racism

98
The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

44
Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

41
Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

May 29, 2025
The marketing mission remains clear

The marketing mission remains clear

May 29, 2025
 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

May 29, 2025
Media Moves: TASTE turns 20, Anele, Lira and Janine van Wyk are FEARLESS in new campaign; Alex Okosi new MD for Google Africa, Accenture Song wins Telkom business

Media Moves: Media24 unveils unified advertising and content team, Masego Matlotleng awarded Creative Futures scholarship, PHD wins Cell C business

May 29, 2025

Recent News

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

May 29, 2025
The marketing mission remains clear

The marketing mission remains clear

May 29, 2025
 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

May 29, 2025
Media Moves: TASTE turns 20, Anele, Lira and Janine van Wyk are FEARLESS in new campaign; Alex Okosi new MD for Google Africa, Accenture Song wins Telkom business

Media Moves: Media24 unveils unified advertising and content team, Masego Matlotleng awarded Creative Futures scholarship, PHD wins Cell C business

May 29, 2025

ABOUT US

The Media Online is the definitive online point of reference for South Africa’s media industry offering relevant, focused and topical news on the media sector. We deliver up-to-date industry insights, guest columns, case studies, content from local and global contributors, news, views and interviews on a daily basis as well as providing an online home for The Media magazine’s content, which is posted on a monthly basis.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads

ARENA HOLDING

Editor: Glenda Nevill
glenda.nevill@cybersmart.co.za
Sales and Advertising:
Tarin-Lee Watts
wattst@arena.africa
Download our rate card

OUR NETWORK

TimesLIVE
Sunday Times
SowetanLIVE
BusinessLIVE
Business Day
Financial Mail
HeraldLIVE
DispatchLIVE
Wanted Online
SA Home Owner
Business Media MAGS
Arena Events

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

 
Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?