How Americans get their news

Pew Research -   A growing share of Americans say they mostly get news because they happen to come across it, not because they’re actively seeking it out. About half of U.S. adults (49%) say this is the case today, up from 39% when we first asked this question in 2019.

Most U.S. adults say they happen across opinions and humor about news but seek out deep dives and up-to-date information

However, Americans are especially likely to find certain types of news by chance and actively look for others, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative.

The types of content that most Americans say they get by chance tend to be reactions to news: humor and opinions. About two-thirds of adults say they see funny posts (66%) and opinions (64%) about the news mostly because they happen to come across them. Meanwhile, 21% say they get opinions mostly by looking for them, and 14% say the same for funny posts.

By contrast, only 31% say they get in-depth information or deep dives into issues or news events because they happen to come across them. And 38% say this is how they tend to get the most up-to-date information about issues or events.