Can social media replace TV news?

In the new Digital News Report 2025 by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, perhaps the most profound transformation in global news consumption in over a generation has emerged. The most radical change naturally begins in the United States, where for the first time, social media and video platforms have surpassed television and news websites as the main sources of information, but this trend extends worldwide – including Italy, as we will see. The perhaps somewhat shocking news this year is that social media have overtaken traditional journalistic channels in terms of audience and performance, and the gap between the two is widening. According to the data, 54% of Americans surveyed said they had used Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X to access news in the week prior to the survey – far more than the 27% recorded in 2013. In comparison, television was used by 50%, while traditional media websites and apps were consulted by 48%. Age group analysis makes this transformation even more evident. Among Americans aged 18 to 24, 54% identified social media and video platforms as their main source of news. In the 25–34 age range, the figure is 50%. Older generations remain more attached to television and traditional news sites, but the digital shift seems unstoppable.

The same shift is also seen in other countries, albeit with different nuances. In Brazil, 35% identified social media as their main news source, followed by 34% in the United States. In the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, and Japan, similar trends are observed, although traditional outlets retain a stronger connection with audiences. What matters most, however, is that the main beneficiaries of this shift are individual content creators and information influencers, often entirely outside traditional journalism. These figures wield growing political and cultural influence, with 22% of U.S. respondents having seen informational content or commentary from podcaster Joe Rogan during the week following Donald Trump’s inauguration – a number that highlights Rogan's massive reach, especially among young men, a demographic increasingly hard for mainstream media to reach. Other right-wing personalities have also gained significant visibility: between 12% and 14% of respondents reported seeing content from Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, or Ben Shapiro. Unlike professional journalists, these commentators often operate without any editorial oversight, yet reach large and loyal audiences.

The report confirmed something we all suspected: populist politicians are exploiting this ecosystem to bypass traditional media, opting for interviews with friendly influencers who rarely ask critical questions. This enables the spread of false or misleading narratives without the scrutiny of newsrooms, which, especially in the U.S., are increasingly branded as "fake news" when they don’t align with the Trump administration’s dictates and its manipulation of free speech – a principle actually opposed by much of the MAGA movement, which would prefer to see journalists and political opponents behind bars or worse. One particularly notable case is the X platform (formerly Twitter). After being acquired by Elon Musk in 2022, the platform's user base experienced a demographic and ideological shift. In the U.S., the share of right-wing users on X has tripled, from 5% to 15%. During the same period, the share of left-wing users dropped from 17% to 14%. In the United Kingdom, the number of right-wing users has nearly doubled.

Meanwhile, alternative platforms like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon are failing to attract a significant audience: each has a global penetration of 2% or less for news consumption. In contrast, more established platforms continue to dominate. Facebook is the most used for news, reaching 36% of users globally. YouTube stands at 30%, while Instagram and WhatsApp are both around 20%. TikTok, which is growing rapidly, is used for news by 16% of the global audience, up by four percentage points from the previous year. X is still used by 12%. However, the rise of these new platforms also raises serious concerns about the truth and accuracy of information. Globally, 58% of respondents expressed concern about their ability to distinguish true from false information online. This concern is highest in Africa and the United States, where as many as 73% of people reported being alarmed. Overall trust in the media remains low. Only 40% of respondents say they trust most news most of the time. Trust is highest in Nigeria (68%), followed by Finland, Kenya, Denmark, South Africa, and Thailand. The lowest levels are recorded in Greece and Hungary, with only 22% trust. They are followed by Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

Overall, on a global level, 47% of people consider online influencers a primary source of false or misleading information, a percentage identical to that attributed to politicians—an inevitable parallel in our post-truth era, where the constant bombardment of politically skewed news, half-truths, or selective interpretations has started to create fatigue among many members of the public, as shown by a survey published last December by Associated Press, in the aftermath of Trump’s electoral victory. Another growing phenomenon highlighted by the report is the so-called “news avoidance”: 40% of global respondents said they sometimes” or “often” avoid the news, compared to 29% in 2017. This is the highest level ever recorded, matching last year’s figure. In the United Kingdom, the rate is even higher: 46% of respondents say they often avoid the news. Reasons include stress, information overload, and the constant negativity in content. A paradigm shift is also looming on the horizon with the growing adoption of AI-powered chatbots, such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, for receiving news. Although the overall number of users is still limited, among those under 35 the percentage rises to 12%, or double the general average. People recognize that AI can make information cheaper and more up-to-date, but they also perceive it as less transparent, less accurate, and less trustworthy. Despite the decline in consumption, traditional journalistic brands have not disappeared entirely. Generations of all ages continue to value the credibility, expertise, and accuracy of legacy media, even if they consult them less frequently than in the past.

The Case of Italy

The Italian news market is also undergoing a profound transformation. The distribution of online news, for example, has seen a slight decline compared to previous years in the country, while TV has stabilized its audience and print media continues to lose readers. Trust in the media remains low, with only 36% of Italians saying they trust the news most of the time. Outlets perceived as more neutral enjoy greater trust, while Fanpage and Il Post, though popular among young people, are considered less credible by older users. According to the report, authored by Dr. Alessio Cornia, we are in a global context of disintegration of the traditional information system, where the main challenge for journalism remains to regain trust, find sustainable business models, and remain relevant in an ecosystem increasingly dominated by algorithms, platforms, and user-generated content. On the advertising front, historically the main—and often only—source of revenue for TV channels, large international companies like Google, Meta, and Netflix dominate the online advertising market, placing economic pressure on traditional media, which still manage to hold on. According to the “Italian” section of the report, television continues to represent the core of the information system in Italy, generating about 72% of the revenues of the entire traditional media sector. The television landscape, historically centered around RAI and Mediaset (long associated with the Berlusconi family), has become slightly more diversified in recent years. RAI remains the leading operator, followed by Sky and Mediaset. These three players still account for about 70% of total revenues. Meanwhile, streaming platforms like Netflix, DAZN, TIMVision, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ have gained ground, now approaching 20% of the overall television market.

In the advertising sector, the growth of online is evident: today it represents 61% of total advertising revenue. However, almost all (85%) of this income ends up in the coffers of large international platforms, leaving Italian media with only a very small share (15%), making it difficult to compete on equal terms in the digital landscape. The strength of TV is still reflected in the weekly offline audience, dominated by major broadcasters. Among printed newspapers, only Il Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica reach at least 10% weekly readership, confirming the leadership of the Cairo/RCS and GEDI groups, which together account for 34% of copies sold in 2024. Nonetheless, the world of traditional print continues to struggle: at the end of 2024, after 25 years, the Italian edition of Metro, the historic free daily newspaper, shut down; meanwhile, GEDI sold La Provincia Pavese, remaining with only one local title and signaling a progressive disengagement from local journalism. It also appointed a new editor at La Repubblica, yet another leadership change in an attempt to bring the newspaper back to its original editorial identity, after several editorial shifts that drew criticism from readers and staff. The landscape of Italian digital news, on the other hand, is far more fragmented and dynamic. Traditional broadcasters like RAI, Sky, and Mediaset maintain a following online as well, but are challenged by digital outlets such as Il Fatto Quotidiano, La Repubblica, Corriere.it, the agency ANSA, and especially Fanpage, founded in 2010, which is now the leading digital-native player in Italy. Outlets like Il Post and Will Media, although with a smaller overall audience, stand out among those under 35, reaching 11% and 9% respectively.

A growing phenomenon is the emergence of membership models, adopted by many digital-native publications. Fanpage, for example, launched a subscription program that does not place core content behind a paywall but offers exclusive benefits such as podcasts, newsletters, and ad-free browsing for those who contribute financially. This approach aims to preserve online visibility and advertising revenue while also engaging a more loyal reader community. Similar initiatives have been started by Il Post, Open, HuffPost, Linkiesta, and Citynews. But Italians are not very fond of paying for their news, and in fact, the rate of paying for online news in Italy remains among the lowest in the world, stuck at 9%. Adding to the complexity of the picture is the growing intersection between journalism and technology, which led the Italian Privacy Authority to express concerns about a partnership between GEDI and OpenAI, which involved providing content attributed to ChatGPT and allowing the AI to draw from the publishing group’s material to improve its responses. Last March, Il Foglio published the first edition of a newspaper entirely generated by artificial intelligence: headlines, articles, editorials, and even letters to the editor were produced by automated systems. The initiative was deliberately provocative but significant: when will the moment come when we can no longer tell that AI is writing our newspapers, replacing journalists who (hopefully) have ethics and professional standards?