Why 31% of Americans Now Prefer News Influencers Over Traditional Media
Peter Lewis

Peter Murphy Lewis is a media strategist and TV host with 20+ years in marketing. As a fractional CMO and founder of Strategic Pete, he helps executives and organizations make sense of data and leverage audience-centric strategies.
Why 31% of Americans Now Prefer News Influencers Over Traditional Media
The media is shifting beneath our feet, and so are the ways in which people consume news. A full 31% of Americans are increasingly reliant on social media influencers for news over traditional news outlets. It's not a quirk of the TikTok generation; this constitutes a serious turn in how trust and credibility are established.
Whether you are leading a business, running an organization, or charged with entertaining an audience, this shift offers some pretty powerful lessons in trust, relatability, and communication that could completely upend the way you approach your role.
What's happening with traditional media?
Trust in traditional media has fallen off a cliff. The 2024 Reuters Institute reports that only a puny 40% of people globally trust most news most of the time, while for countries like Greece and Hungary, this number can be as low as 23%.
There are three key factors driving this erosion in confidence: misinformation, overt political bias, and a perception that major outlets are controlled by corporate interests.
But this again is no surprise. A lack of transparency and an excess of negativity let audiences down.
And the response has been dramatic: 39% of people globally now avoid the news altogether, up 10 percentage points since 2017.
The public is tired of sensationalism and exhausted by the endless bad news cycle.
So where are they going? They're seeking out voices they perceive as authentic, relatable, and direct. They're turning to influencers.
Why influencers are winning
Influencers are on a very different playing field than traditional outlets. They don't just broadcast the news; they engage with it, dissect it, and share it in ways that feel real and personal. Instead of standing on a pedestal, they meet their audience on the ground. And it's working.
According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, 65% of Americans say influencers help them better understand what's going on in the world.
For younger audiences, that number skyrockets: Among people aged 18–29, 72% say influencers clarify issues for them better than traditional outlets.
But there is more to it than clarity. Influencers are flexible in ways legacy media can't be. They combine basic facts-delivered in bite-sized formats - with humor, opinion, and relatability. 90% of their followers say they get facts, 87% say they get opinions, and 83% value breaking news updates.
This mix keeps audiences informed and entertained, a balance traditional media often struggles to achieve.
For leaders, this is a key takeaway: the old methods of talking are no longer good enough. People want to engage rather than be lectured to.
The shift to Video-First consumption
Perhaps the most telling sign of this shift is the dominance of video content. Short-form video across demographics has taken over as one of the key mediums for news. According to Reuters, globally, 66% of audiences in total consume short news videos every week, and TikTok is at the forefront in driving this behavior.
Among people aged 18–24, TikTok use for news has climbed to 23% globally, with even higher rates in countries like Thailand (39%) and Kenya (36%).
Here's what makes this shift profound: it's not that these platforms are simply displacing traditional media; they are changing how information is structured.
TikTok and YouTube, for example, elevate your content based entirely on algorithmic engagement, rather than on any editorial consideration. So people see news not because an editor thinks it is important, but rather because it reflects their interests.
For those of us in leadership positions, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. If you're not creating content that engages within seconds, you've already lost. It's no longer enough to communicate; you have to captivate.
Trust: The new currency
Influencers work because they have earned trust in an environment where misinformation runs rife. Even as 59% of people in the world say they are concerned about fake news, influencers are considered more accessible and relatable than traditional sources.
Take, for instance, TikTok and X. 27% of TikTok users say they can't tell what's real and what's fake, yet the relatability of influencers in the platform keeps them coming back.
They don't feel like they're being "talked at" - they feel like they're part of a conversation.
That's a key lesson. Trust today isn't built through institutional authority; it's built through transparency, relatability, and consistency.
What leaders can learn
You don't have to be a TikTok creator to take cues from influencers. There are some real, actionable strategies here that apply to anyone who's in charge of an audience to engage:
- Be transparent
Audiences are tired of gleaming, over-managed messages. Viewers want authenticity, even when it's not pretty.
Matthew Bellows, former CEO of Yesware, spoke publicly about his company's struggles in interviews, including one with The New York Times. Far from damaging the company's reputation, this transparency strengthened trust with both employees and customers.
- Show your human side
People connect with people, not brands or titles. Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, worked to regain trust after a tumultuous period in the company's history by using personal experiences of resilience and opportunity from his life as an Iranian immigrant. It wasn't a PR move, but one to make the leadership of Uber seem, well, human.
- Lean into bite-sized communication
Success with short-form video is the surest indication: attention spans shrink, and shorter is better. You will lose your audience unless you can give your message its most distilled points.
The “Misinformation minefield”
Of course, the rise of influencers isn't without pitfalls. Places like TikTok and YouTube are fertile ground for misinformation, while AI-generated content further muddles the waters of fact versus fiction.
In fact, only 10% of British audiences currently say they are comfortable with news written by AI, according to the Reuters Institute. This skepticism is heightened for very serious topics, such as politics and crime, where trust is already fragile.
But this isn't just a problem for media companies. Leaders in every industry need to understand how misinformation can erode trust. Proactively addressing inaccuracies and showing your audience how you verify information isn't optional anymore.
A generational divide
Worth noting: the sharp generational differences in how news is consumed.
Although older audiences still prefer to directly access news websites, under-35s overwhelmingly favor platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Growing, particularly among younger users, are mobile aggregators like News Break.
But this isn’t just about preferences, it’s about values. Younger audiences care deeply about diversity, inclusion, and authenticity. If you’re not addressing these priorities in your communication, you’re leaving an entire generation behind.
Moving forward
What this points to is not the popularity of influencers, but rather why they're popular: they have adapted to a consumer base desperate for connection and clarity in a wildly overwhelming media landscape.
And the lesson here to any leader, brand manager, or reputation builder is clear: The way one communicates must evolve. Lose the jargon. Speak plainly. Be authentically connected. For in today's world, trust isn't given; it's earned, one conversation at a time.
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Peter Murphy Lewis is a media strategist and TV host with 20+ years in marketing. As a fractional CMO and founder of Strategic Pete, he helps executives and organizations make sense of data and leverage audience-centric strategies.