More Australians get their news via social media than traditional sources for first time, report finds

TV remains the most popular source of news and one in 20 respondents said they ask AI chatbots for the headlines

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More Australians now access their news via social media than traditional news outlets and young Australians are increasingly drawn to video news on TikTok and Instagram, according to the 2025 Digital News Report.

The University of Canberra’s News and Media Research Centre found television (37%) remains the most popular source of news (up 1% from 2024) but more consumers now go to Facebook, X, YouTube and other platforms than to a legacy news outlet.

The number of people reporting they use online news as their main source of news has dropped dramatically – from 28% in 2024 to 23% in 2025 – while social media as a main source of news has risen one percentage point from 25% to 26%.