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illustration: DALL-EWeb users shift from classic social networks to video platforms. Nic Newman and the Reuters Institute team state this in the latest "Digital News Report 2025". Facebook still leads for news reach, edging past YouTube. Yet TikTok grabs momentum fastest. In Thailand, almost half of respondents (49%) now follow news there. That figure is up ten points in a year.
In practice, this signals the rapid ageing of traditional text formats. Publishers that once banked on long reads must now serve vertical video, short clips and live streams to hold the eye. Newsrooms in Mexico and the Philippines already reshuffle teams and schedules because the TikTok algorithm rewards frequency.
- 36% use Facebook for news
- 30% choose YouTube for the same purpose
- 16% worldwide take news from TikTok
The rise of short forms sparks a battle for seconds of focus. The viewer scans the screen for a headline that grabs in the first two sentences. Journalists adapt, recording punchy intros that give the number, location and main actor at once. Nic Newman’s analysis shows that average watch time for news shorts rose by 27% year on year.
Influencers. New newsroom old problem
Newsrooms once chose the front-page topics. Now online creators come first. In the United States, 22% said they listened to Joe Rogan in the week after the president’s inauguration. In France, Hugo Travers ("HugoDécrypte") draws the same share of viewers under 35. Popularity brings power. Audiences say that influencers rival big networks in shaping debate.
| Creator / Country | Weekly reach | Main platform |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Rogan / USA | 22% online viewers | Podcast + YouTube |
| Hugo Travers / France | 22% viewers < 35 yrs | YouTube + TikTok |
| Gustavo Gayer / Brazil | 1.9 m subscriptions | YouTube |
| Dhruv Rathee / India | 19 m subscriptions | YouTube |
| BeerBiceps / India | 6.5 m subscriptions | YouTube |
Respondents also name online creators as the top potential source of misinformation. As many as 47% see them as the main threat alongside politicians. Experts note that an influencer enjoys a ‘parasocial’ bond with viewers. They talk directly, answer comments and the algorithm pushes the video to like-minded users. The result is content that skips the old newsroom filter and fact-checking.
Newsrooms respond by inviting star creators to debates or asking them to cross-post verified content. The British BBC runs a TikTok duet series where a journalist answers an influencer’s comments, correcting rumours. "Le Monde" recruited famous economic YouTubers to explain inflation in an ‘explain like I’m five’ style. The report’s authors say such alliances can limit the reach of false stories if both sides stay clear about sources.
Video format takes over news
Video is not only growing. It already dominates. The share of social video in news use jumped from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025. In the United States, weekly viewing of video news rose from 55% to 72% in just four years. Most of that use, 61%, happens on social platforms rather than publisher sites.
- 52% → 65% social video share in 2020-2025
- 55% → 72% Americans watch video news weekly
- 61% viewers pick platforms, 29% publisher sites
- 67% → 75% growth in any video news viewing worldwide
Data show that text is fast losing its edge even in reading-strong nations such as Germany or the United Kingdom. Younger audiences would rather swipe a screen than scan columns. "Digital News Report 2025" advises newsrooms to move budget from page layout to editing. It also urges them to place vertical video on their own sites.
The "New York Times" shows the payoff. Adding a vertical video carousel on the home page raised average time on site by 18%, and paywall clicks held steady. "The Economist" saw a similar effect after placing thirty second reporter clips above classic leads. Nic Newman notes that viewers love short form yet still return for depth when a video signals the scale of an issue.
Digital News Report 2025 was produced through cooperation between the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and YouGov. The survey covered 94 943 internet users in 47 countries, interviewed online in January to February 2025. Results were weighted to reflect the online population in each country. The full report is free on the Reuters Institute site.
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