• Traditional journalism professionals and their news brands do make up the most popular news source on Facebook (46%), YouTube (44%), Instagram (42%) and, above all, Twitter (57%).

• National politics is the most popular topic on Twitter (55%, with fifteen points difference over the next), Facebook (44%) and YouTube (42%, always based on those who watch news on each social network ).

• On Instagram, funny news (42%) and entertainment, heart and lifestyle news (40%) predominate; also on TikTok, with 40% and 34%, where national political news also reach this proportion.

The diversity of social networks where users read, watch, find, share and comment on news means that users have different references in them, journalistic or otherwise, and that they use them as a place to get information and comment, to a greater or lesser extent, on different interests and current affairs.

Information referents in social networks

TikTok represents a change in the sources that are paid attention to in social networks in relation to news, both in Spain and, especially, globally.

On Twitter, mainstream journalists and news media achieve the highest penetration on any of the five platforms, with 57% of users attending some source in this category; smaller/alternative journalists and media also achieve their highest reach here, with 51%. Ordinary people come in third (39%), followed by politicians and activists, who score ten points more (30%) than on any other platform.

On other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, users report following mainly (46%, 44% and 42%) generalist media and their professionals, and alternative media and their communicators also achieve a good position (34%, 39% and 36%); on the other hand, politicians and activists remain at 14%, 20% and 19%, respectively.

On Facebook, ordinary citizens come in second place, between the generalist and alternative media. Instagram is the mass platform where the phenomenon we observed in TikTok is most prevalent: although generalist media such as source predominate (42% globally and also in Spain), ordinary people account for 37% in Spain.

In contrast, on TikTok, globally, ordinary people (44%) are the most important news source , followed by "social media personalities" and "content creators" with 39%, and celebrities, such as musicians, actors, comedians and sports stars, with 36%. Behind are 'mainstream' media (33%) and alternative media (31%); only politicians and activists lag behind (25%).

In Spain, with a base of 105 participants, ordinary people also rank as the most widespread information source on TikTok, with 44%, followed at a distance by smaller media and alternative journalists (35%), and large media and their professionals account for 30%, slightly more than social network personalities and "content creators" (26%), and well above politicians and activists (18%) and celebrities (15%).

Informative topics on each platform

What news is followed through each social platform? Based on those who access news on each social network , national politics stand out on Twitter (55%), Facebook (44%) and YouTube (42%). On Instagram and TikTok, funny news gets the most attention (42% and 40%, respectively). Let's delve into each of the five platforms surveyed in more detail and for which we have a sufficient base of user responses.

On TikTok in Spain in early 2023, national politics, at 34%, attracted twice as much attention as the war in Ukraine (17%), and tied with celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news (34%); this category clearly stands out globally, because it interests 49% of users, compared to 36% for country-specific politics.

Two categories that are less popular on TikTok in Spain than in the countries as a whole are sports (only 16% among TikTok users in our market, compared to 27% overall) and climate change and the environment, which reach 24% in Spain but interest 33% of TikTok users in relation to news in the 46 markets under study.

On YouTube, hard information categories such as national politics (42%), Ukraine war (31%) and social justice issues such as gender and racial equality or LGTBQ+ rights (24% overall) rank close to the global average , but others such as Economics and finance (29%); entertainment, celebrities and lifestyle (27%); and health and Covid-19 (26%) fall far behind, always among news-oriented YouTube users.

Instagram is mainly, in Spain, source of entertainment news, celebrities and lifestyle (40% among users of the platform to be informed or participate around news), although our market is below the global average in all categories... except one: social justice, equality and civil rights issues enjoy 36% among Instagram users in Spain, five points above the global average and in line with Italy (37%), Ireland (36%) and Portugal (35%), although behind the United Kingdom (41%), Austria (41%), Chile (40%), or the United States (39%). 

On Twitter, national politics (55%) and sports (38%) predominate, without forgetting fun news (40%) and entertainment, celebrities and lifestyle (35%). Facebook is also the place for political news within Spain (44%) and stands out over other platforms the category encompassing health information in general and Covid-19 in particular, which at the beginning of 2023 accounted for 35%, although fun news was also ahead here, with 40%.