TikTok News Consumption

Extracted Attributes

• Content Format

  Short-form video (3 seconds to 60 minutes)

• Platform Owner

  ByteDance (Chinese internet company)

• Primary Demographic for News

  Young Americans / Adults aged under 30 years

• Mechanism for Content Delivery

  Recommendation algorithms

• Primary Source of News on TikTok

  People users don't know personally (84%)

• Common News Content Types on TikTok

  Funny posts about current events (84%), opinion content (80%), text-based news articles (57%), breaking news (55%)

• Percentage of US Adults Regularly Getting News from TikTok (2020)

  3%

• Percentage of US Adults Regularly Getting News from TikTok (2024)

  17%

• Percentage of TikTok Users Regularly Getting News from TikTok (2020)

  22%

• Percentage of TikTok Users Regularly Getting News from TikTok (2024)

  52%

• Percentage of Young Americans (18-29) Regularly Getting News from TikTok (2022)

  32%

Timeline

• TikTok surpassed two billion mobile downloads worldwide. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

  2020-04

• 3% of US adults regularly got news from TikTok, and 22% of TikTok users regularly got news from the app. (Source: Web Search (Pew Research Center))

  2020

• Cloudflare ranked TikTok the most popular website, surpassing Google. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

  2021

• 10% of US adults regularly got news from TikTok, including 32% of adults aged 18 to 29 years. (Source: Web Search (Pew Research Center))

  2022

• 17% of US adults regularly get news from TikTok, and 52% of TikTok users regularly get news from the app. (Source: Web Search (Pew Research Center))

  2024

TikTok

TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (Chinese: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn; lit. 'Shaking Sound'), is a social media and short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes. It can be accessed through a mobile app or through its website. Since its launch, TikTok has become one of the world's most popular social media platforms, using recommendation algorithms to connect content creators and influencers with new audiences. In April 2020, TikTok surpassed two billion mobile downloads worldwide. Cloudflare ranked TikTok the most popular website of 2021, surpassing Google. The popularity of TikTok has allowed viral trends in food, fashion, and music to take off and increase the platform's cultural impact worldwide. TikTok has come under scrutiny due to data privacy violations, mental health concerns, misinformation, offensive content, and its role during the Gaza war. Countries have fined, banned, or attempted to restrict TikTok to protect children or out of national security concerns over possible user data collection by the government of China through ByteDance.

Web Search Results

• More Americans are regularly getting news on TikTok, especially ...

  News consumption is also trending upward when looking at TikTok users, specifically. Around half of TikTok users (52%) now say they regularly get news there, up from 43% last year and just 22% in 2020. TikTok users are now more likely to get news from TikTok than Facebook users are to get news from Facebook. Still, TikTok users are less likely than users of X (formerly Twitter) to get news on the site. [...] A small but growing share of U.S. adults are regularly getting news on TikTok. In fact, since 2020, no social media platform we’ve studied has seen faster growth in the share of Americans who regularly turn to it for news, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. In just four years, the share of adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has grown about fivefold, from 3% in 2020 to 17% in 2024. [...] In the past, we have conducted similar research about Americans’ use of social media for news. This survey continues to explore the same topics, but our approach has evolved to use slightly different question wording, starting in our 2020 survey. As a result, some of these measures cannot be directly compared with findings prior to 2020. These changes in question wording reflect the Center’s efforts to improve the way we measure news consumption.

• By the Numbers: Americans love to get news from TikTok

  It may surprise you to find that traditional news articles are popular even on a video-centric app. Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents said that text-based news articles being (re)posted, screenshotted or linked to make up part of their news consumption on TikTok. Another 55% say they find breaking news on the app. But far more popular and common, respondents said, were funny posts about current events (84%) and opinion content (80%). [...] Even as the popular app undergoes seismic shifts and massive questions about its future, it remains an important source of information for millions of Americans. That’s why the possibility off it disappearing is so unsettling to so many. According to Pew Research, just over half of TikTok users (52%) use the app for news. But that news doesn’t look quite like you might expect. [...] Who TikTok users trust for news So, who exactly are these users following for news and politics, if not journalists? The number one source isn’t influencers. It’s not friends or family. No, 84% of TikTok news consumers say they get news on the app from people they don’t know personally. Just people. Random people served to them by the algorithm, talking about the news or politics of the day.

• Factors driving Gen Z's news engagement on TikTok

  | Compatibility of TikTok (COT) | COT1 | TikTok's content suits my news consumption behavior (e.g., using mobile devices to read news, quickly scrolling through news, short videos …). | (Moore & Benbasat, 1991; Richter et al., 2023) | | COT2 | TikTok aligns well with my news consumption habits (e.g., not wanting to pay for high-quality news, wanting to read the latest news for free …). | [...] This study aimed to identify the key factors influencing Generation Z's news consumption on TikTok in Vietnam by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), and Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT). These findings offer both expected and novel insights that enhance our understanding of digital news consumption, revealing the nuanced dynamics at play in this context. Hypothesis testing yielded mixed results. [...] This study examined Gen Z's news consumption on TikTok in Vietnam by integrating TAM, IDT, and UGT within a dual SEM approach. The results showed that perceived usefulness, ease of use, and compatibility bolster intention; however, actual usage depends on intrinsic motivation and the strength of that intention. In a media context that blurs the lines between entertainment and journalism, younger audiences are highly driven by the gratification they obtain from short-form visually engaging

• TikTok as Gen Z's New Search Engine: How the Platform Shapes ...

  Unlike traditional media, where news is delivered by journalists, TikTok allows creators and influencers to shape narratives. This user-generated content adds a layer of relatability and accessibility, making complex topics more digestible. The platform’s interactive features, such as comments and duets, encourage discussions and amplify diverse voices. TikTok and the Future of News Consumption ### Personalized News Feeds [...] Despite its benefits, TikTok faces significant challenges as a news platform. The spread of misinformation is a major concern, as the platform lacks the editorial oversight of traditional media. Additionally, the brevity of TikTok videos can oversimplify complex issues, leaving users without the full context needed to make informed opinions. ## TikTok and the Future of News Consumption TikTok and the Future of News Consumption [...] The rise of TikTok as a news source signals a shift in how younger generations consume information. As more Gen Z users turn to the platform for updates, traditional news outlets and search engines must adapt to remain relevant. TikTok’s emphasis on visual storytelling and community engagement could set the standard for future media consumption.

• TikTok as a Source of Health Information and ...

  platform is a vehicle for finding and disseminating information, including health-related content [5,6]. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of adults in the United States who regularly get news from TikTok has more than tripled (from 3% in 2020 to 10% in 2022). Adults aged <30 years are the most likely group, with a third (32%) of adults aged 18 to 29 years saying that they regularly get their news from TikTok . [...] 1.Dellatto M. TikTok hits 1 billion monthly active users. Forbes. [2023-11-02]. 2.Willingham A, Asmelash L, Andrew S. The biggest ways TikTok has changed American culture. CNN. [2023-11-02]. . 3.Shepardson D. TikTok hits 150 mln U.S. monthly users, up from 100 million in 2020. Reuters. [2023-11-02]. 4.Yuen M. TikTok users worldwide (2020-2025) Insider Intelligence. [2023-05-10]. . [...] TikTok has generated substantial attention due to recent reports suggesting its emergence as a significant source of information for many Americans . For some users, TikTok has replaced traditional news networks as well as widely used search engines such as Google . Given this emergence of TikTok as an information source and the presence of health information available on the platform [5,6], we surveyed 1172 women aged 18 to 29 years to understand their use of TikTok as a source of health