Twitter Top Source for Breaking News on Social Media: Survey

Advertisement
By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 3 September 2015 19:02 IST
Among all social networking platforms, micro-blogging site Twitter is the top source for users when it comes to breaking news, a new online survey of more than 4,700 social media users has revealed.

Nearly nine in 10 Twitter (86 percent) users in the survey said they use Twitter for news, and the vast majority of those (74 percent) do so daily.

"Roughly the same number of people reported that they use Twitter to be alerted to breaking news (40 percent) as to keep up with the news generally (39 percent)," said the survey conducted by the American Press Institute and Twitter in collaboration with research company called DB5.

Twitter users tend to be heavier news consumers than other social media users.

Advertisement

"News, indeed, is one of the primary activities that they engage in on the network. Twitter users also tend to be younger than social media users in general," the findings revealed.

Advertisement

Three-quarters of Twitter news users follow individual journalists, writers and commentators (73 percent) and nearly two-thirds follow institutional accounts (62 percent).

Twitter users also are very likely to discover new journalists and writers and consequently follow their work, often on other platforms beyond Twitter, the survey indicated.

Advertisement

The Twitter users tend to use the service heavily - several times a day - and their use of the network is increasing how much news they consume.

"Almost all Twitter users are also consumers of other forms of news media," a statement by the American Press Institute read.

Advertisement

While Twitter users follow news in general on the service, and sometimes do so just as a way of passing time, they act differently when they are following breaking news.

They become more participatory - commenting, posting and sharing at moments when events are moving fastest.

"All of these offer signals for how news publishers can make more effective use of social networks in general and Twitter in particular," the results showed.

Nearly 94 percent of Twitter news users get their news either through scrolling their timelines or browsing tweets of those they follow.

Other features are used far less often. For instance, just 34 percent of Twitter news users say they get news from trending topics and 30 percent use search.

About 82 percent of Twitter users access the platform on their phones and many access Twitter across multiple devices.

The findings come at time when Twitter is increasing its emphasis on news and making tweaks that may affect publishers' strategies, the authors concluded.

 

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Further reading: Social, Social Media, Twitter
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Motorola Edge 70 Fusion India Launch Teased; Might Launch With This Chip
  2. OTT Releases of the Week (Feb 16 - Feb 22): Know What to Watch This Weekend
  3. Here's When Xiaomi Will Launch the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra Globally
  4. Poco X8 Pro, X8 Pro Max Colour Options, Design Leaked Online
  5. Xiaomi Teases a New Computing Device, New Tablet Expected to Launch Soon
  6. Vivo V70 Elite Review: Vivo's V-Series Goes 'Elite'
  7. Hello Bachhon Set for OTT Release on Netflix: See Details
  8. Realme P4 Lite With 6,300mAh Battery Launched at This Price in India
  1. Redmi A7 Could Launch Soon as Handset Bags Thailand’s NBTC Certification
  2. Poco X8 Pro, Poco X8 Pro Max Design and Colour Options Seen in Leaked Renders
  3. Hello Bachhon OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Vineet Kumar Singh Starrer Online?
  4. Xiaomi Teases India Launch of New Computing Device; New Tablet With Keyboard or Laptop Expected
  5. Realme C83 5G India Price, RAM and Storage Configurations Leaked Online
  6. Xiaomi 17 Series Global Launch Date Announced; Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Ultra Expected to Debut
  7. Google Blocked 266 Million Risky App Installs, Prevented 1.75 Million Policy-Violating Apps in 2025
  8. Motorola Edge 70 Fusion India Launch Teased on Flipkart; Leaked Marketing Image Hints at Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 SoC
  9. Google Releases Gemini 3.1 Pro With Ability to Execute Complex Tasks; Pomelli Gets New Photoshoot Feature
  10. Theatre: The Myth of Reality OTT Release: Where to Watch Kerala Film Critics Award-Winning Movie Online?
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.