Dem
47
GOP
53
Once upon a time, in a land quite close by, people got their news from newspapers and broadcast television stations. For many people, those days are long gone. Among Americans 18-29, fully 40% get their news from online influencers and podcasters. For example, Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper typically have ca. 10 million listeners per podcast. By way of contrast, the biggest five newspapers in the U.S. by number of subscribers are The New York Times (8.8 million subscribers), The Wall Street Journal (3.1 million), The Washington Post (2.5 million), USA Today (2.0 million), and The Los Angeles Times (500,000). The papers also sell individual copies at newsstands, but those sales are 10-20% of the total at most. In other words, major podcasters rival or exceed all newspapers, and young people don't read newspapers.
A study of 500 popular news influencers shows that 63% are men, most have no background with news organizations, and more lean Republican than Democratic (27% to 21%). Half are nonpartisan. Nearly 85% are on eX-Twitter and 50% are on Instagram. The idea that social media sites ban conservatives is thus nonsense.
Social media influencers and podcasters differ from newspapers in a key way. Newspapers have items marked "news" and items marked "opinion" and they are distinct. Influencers and podcasters mix the two without distinguishing what is fact and what is opinion.
Donald Trump understood this shift better than Kamala Harris and used social media and influencers more than she did. He was also backstopped by Elon Musk, the owner of eX-Twitter, who spread lies and disinformation that was viewed over 2 billion times. (V)