X (Twitter) Statistics 2026: Users, Demographics, News Use and Countries
18% of US adults used X (formerly Twitter) in 2026, down from 21% in 2025, according to Pew Research Center. That is the lowest reading since 2014 and 6 points below the 2018 peak. X is a private company and publishes no audited user numbers, so independent surveys are the best guide. Across 48 markets, 17% of online adults used X in a typical week in 2026, down from 24% in 2021, according to the Reuters Institute. Of the countries we checked, use is highest in Nigeria, Kenya and Japan and lowest in Germany. X still matters most as a news source. 57% of US X users regularly get news there.
Key statistics
- US adults who use X (formerly Twitter) made up 18% of adults in 2026, down from 21% in 2025, according to Pew Research Center.
- The share of US adults who use X in 2026 was 6 points below its 2018 peak of 24%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
- Online adults who used X in the last week made up 17% across 48 markets in 2026, down from 24% in 2021, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
- X users who regularly get news on X made up 57% of US X users in 2026, the same share as Facebook users on Facebook, according to Pew Research Center.
- US men were 1.6 times as likely as US women to use X in 2026, a gap of 9 points, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How many people use X (Twitter)
X Corp is private and does not publish audited user counts. Independent surveys measure the share of people who use it instead. Each asks a slightly different question, so the numbers differ.
Pew Research Center found that 18% of US adults use X in 2026. Pew's survey is designed to represent all US adults, and people could answer online, by mail or by phone. It gives the lowest of the three US figures.
Edison Research put X use at 30% of Americans aged 12 and over in January 2026. That is 12 points higher than Pew. Edison surveys online only and includes teenagers. Its 2026 sample was also built differently from 2025, when it found 22%. The jump from 22% to 30% is more likely a change of method than a surge in users.
The Reuters Institute asks about use in the last week. 24% of US online adults said they used X. Across all 48 markets it covers, the figure was 17%. The Reuters Institute says online samples tend to under-represent older and less affluent people, which can push these shares up.
Sources: Edison Research, Reuters Institute, Pew Research Center.
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US adults who use X (formerly Twitter) made up 18% of adults in 2026, down from 21% in 2025, according to Pew Research Center.
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Americans aged 12 and over who currently use X made up 30% of that population in January 2026, according to Edison Research.
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Online adults who used X in the last week made up 17% across 48 markets in 2026, down from 24% in 2021, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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US online adults who used X in the last week made up 24% of the sample in 2026, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Edison Research put US X use 12 points higher than Pew Research Center in 2026, 30% against 18%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from both sources.
How we calculated it: Edison Research, Americans 12+ who currently use X, January 2026: 30%. Pew Research Center, US adults who ever use X, January to June 2026: 18%. 30 - 18 = 12 points.
| Survey | Population | Question | Share using X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pew Research Center | US adults 18+ | Ever use X | 18% |
| Edison Research | Americans 12+ | Currently use X | 30% |
| Reuters Institute | US online adults | Used X in the last week | 24% |
| Reuters Institute | Online adults, 48 markets | Used X in the last week | 17% |
Share of US adults using X over time
Pew Research Center has asked US adults whether they use Twitter, now X, since 2012. It is the longest consistent series on the platform.
X use in the US grew from 13% of adults in 2012 to a peak of 24% in January 2018. It then held between 21% and 23% for six years. The 2026 reading of 18% is the first clear fall, 3 points in a single year.
X now sits joint ninth of the 11 platforms Pew tracks in 2026, level with Nextdoor. Reddit, at 25%, and Snapchat, at 26%, are both ahead. Read our Reddit statistics for how that platform has grown over the same period.
Edison Research, which also tracks Americans aged 12 and over, shows a less steady line. It found 27% in 2023, 19% in 2024 and 22% in 2025. The two series agree that X is a mid-sized US platform, not a mass-market one like YouTube or Facebook.
Source: Pew Research Center. One reading per year: the latest in years with several surveys. 2017, 2020 and 2022 had no reading.
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US adults who used Twitter made up 13% of adults in August 2012, the first reading in the series, according to Pew Research Center.
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US adults who used Twitter reached a peak of 24% of adults in January 2018, according to Pew Research Center.
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The share of US adults who use X fell 3 points in 2026, from 21% to 18%, a 14% drop, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: 2026 share 18% - 2025 share 21% = -3 points. Relative change -3 / 21 = -14.3%, rounded to 14%.
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The share of US adults who use X in 2026 was 6 points below its 2018 peak of 24%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: 2026 share 18% - January 2018 share 24% = -6 points. Relative change -6 / 24 = -25%.
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X ranked joint ninth of 11 social platforms by share of US adults using it in 2026, level with Nextdoor at 18%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: 2026 shares from the fact sheet: YouTube 84%, Facebook 70%, Instagram 51%, TikTok 37%, WhatsApp 33%, LinkedIn 31%, Snapchat 26%, Reddit 25%, X 18%, Nextdoor 18%, Truth Social 4%. X ties ninth.
| Year | Share of US adults | Survey mode |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 13% | Phone |
| 2014 | 19% | Phone |
| 2016 | 21% | Phone |
| 2018 | 24% | Phone |
| 2021 | 23% | Phone |
| 2023 | 22% | Web and mail |
| 2025 | 21% | Web, mail and phone |
| 2026 | 18% | Web, mail and phone |
X usage by country
The Reuters Institute Digital News Report asks online adults in 48 markets which platforms they used in the last week, and which they used for news. It is the widest source on X use outside the US.
X use varies far more between countries than between age groups. More than half of online adults in Nigeria and Kenya used X in the last week. In Germany only 8% did. Nigeria's figure was 7 times Germany's, though the Nigeria and Kenya samples are younger and mostly English-speaking, not nationally representative.
Japan is X's strongest large rich market. 41% of online adults there used it in the last week, and X was the third biggest platform for news after YouTube and Line. In the other countries we checked, X ranked fourth or lower for news.
Across all markets, weekly use of X for any purpose fell from 24% in 2021 to 17% in 2026, by our calculation a 29% drop. News use fell in most of the countries shown, with the largest falls in the US and Turkey, both down 7 points. Japan, Australia and Spain were the exceptions, and Germany was unchanged.
Source: Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2026.
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Online adults in Nigeria who used X in the last week made up 56% of the sample in 2026, and 46% used it for news, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Online adults in Kenya who used X in the last week made up 52% of the sample in 2026, and 38% used it for news, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Online adults in Japan who used X in the last week made up 41% of the sample in 2026, and 20% used it for news, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Online adults in the UK who used X in the last week made up 17% of the sample in 2026, and 10% used it for news, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Online adults in Germany who used X in the last week made up 8% of the sample in 2026, and 5% used it for news, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Online adults in Australia who used X in the last week made up 22% of the sample in 2026, and 17% used it for news, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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Weekly X use was 7 times higher in Nigeria than in Germany in 2026, 56% against 8%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Reuters Institute data.
How we calculated it: Nigeria 56% / Germany 8% = 7.0. Both are 2026 shares of online adults who used X for any purpose in the last week. The Nigeria sample is younger and mostly English-speaking.
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Weekly use of X for any purpose across Digital News Report markets fell 7 points between 2021 and 2026, a 29% drop, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Reuters Institute data.
How we calculated it: 2026 share 17% - 2021 share 24% = -7 points. Relative change -7 / 24 = -29%. 2021 covers 46 markets and 2026 covers 48 markets.
| Country | Any purpose | For news | Change in news use vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria* | 56% | 46% | -3 points |
| Kenya* | 52% | 38% | -4 points |
| Japan | 41% | 20% | +3 points |
| Turkey | 24% | 16% | -7 points |
| United States | 24% | 16% | -7 points |
| Australia | 22% | 17% | +1 point |
| Spain | 22% | 16% | +1 point |
| Mexico | 21% | 13% | -2 points |
| United Kingdom | 17% | 10% | -2 points |
| Canada | 17% | 10% | -1 point |
| Indonesia | 15% | 10% | -3 points |
| Germany | 8% | 5% | No change |
Who uses X (demographics)
X users are younger, more male and better off than the US population as a whole. Pew Research Center's 2026 survey gives the most detailed split.
Age is the biggest divide. 31% of US adults under 30 use X, against 7% of those 65 and over. That makes younger adults 4.4 times as likely to use it, by our calculation.
In Pew's data, X has the widest gender gap of any big platform. 23% of US men use it, against 14% of women. Edison Research found that men make up 74% of people for whom X is their main social platform. TikTok is the reverse, with women at 63%. See our TikTok statistics.
Party is a smaller divide than often assumed. In Pew's 2026 data, 20% of Republicans and leaners use X, against 19% of Democrats and leaners. Edison found the same narrow gap in 2025, 25% against 22%. But Edison also shows that Democrats used X far more in 2023, at 34%, so the mix has shifted even if overall use is similar.
Source: Pew Research Center.
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US adults aged 18 to 29 who use X made up 31% of that age group in 2026, according to Pew Research Center.
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US adults aged 65 and over who use X made up 7% of that age group in 2026, according to Pew Research Center.
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US men who use X made up 23% of men in 2026, against 14% of women, according to Pew Research Center.
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Men made up 74% of Americans aged 12 and over who use X more than any other social platform in 2026, according to Edison Research.
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US adults in households earning $100,000 or more who use X made up 24% of that group in 2026, according to Pew Research Center.
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US adults in households earning less than $30,000 who use X made up 14% of that group in 2026, according to Pew Research Center.
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US Republicans and Republican leaners who use X made up 20% of that group in 2026, against 19% of Democrats and leaners, according to Pew Research Center.
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US urban adults who use X made up 21% of that group in 2026, against 14% of rural adults, according to Pew Research Center.
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US adults aged 18 to 29 were 4.4 times as likely as those aged 65 and over to use X in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: Ages 18 to 29: 31%. Ages 65 and over: 7%. 31 / 7 = 4.43, rounded to 4.4.
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US men were 1.6 times as likely as US women to use X in 2026, a gap of 9 points, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: Men 23% / women 14% = 1.64, rounded to 1.6. Gap 23 - 14 = 9 points.
| Group | Share using X |
|---|---|
| Ages 18 to 29 | 31% |
| Ages 30 to 49 | 20% |
| Ages 50 to 64 | 17% |
| Ages 65+ | 7% |
| Men | 23% |
| Women | 14% |
| Household income under $30,000 | 14% |
| Household income $100,000+ | 24% |
| Urban | 21% |
| Suburban | 19% |
| Rural | 14% |
| Republican or leans Republican | 20% |
| Democrat or leans Democrat | 19% |
X as a news source
X has a small audience compared with Facebook or YouTube, but a large share of its users go there for news. Pew Research Center and the Reuters Institute both track this.
10% of US adults regularly get news on X in 2026, according to Pew. That is down from 15% in 2020, a fall of a third. Facebook, at 40%, and YouTube, at 34%, reach far more people with news.
Yet among X's own users, 57% regularly get news there. That ties X with Facebook for the highest share of any platform Pew tracks. X is used less, but those who use it are more likely to use it for news.
The Reuters Institute found a sharper fall. US weekly news use of X dropped from 23% in 2025 to 16% in 2026. It says 2025 was inflated by a busy news period, and 2026 is close to earlier years. Its data also shows a political shift. In 2021, Democrat voters were 13 points more likely than Republican voters to use X for news. By 2026, Republican voters were 7 points ahead.
Globally, news use of X has hardly moved in a decade. In 12 markets tracked since 2014, 11% of online adults used X for news in 2026, against 9% in 2014. Among 18 to 24 year olds across all markets, it fell from 18% to 15% in the past year.
- Democrat voters
- Republican voters
Source: Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2026. Base about 650 voters for each party in each year. 2026 from a March 2026 repoll.
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US adults who regularly get news on X made up 10% of adults in 2026, down from 12% in 2025, according to Pew Research Center.
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X users who regularly get news on X made up 57% of US X users in 2026, the same share as Facebook users on Facebook, according to Pew Research Center.
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US adults who regularly got news on Twitter made up 15% of adults in 2020, according to Pew Research Center.
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US men who regularly get news on X made up 15% of men in 2026, against 6% of women, according to Pew Research Center.
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US Republicans and Republican leaners who regularly get news on X made up 16% of that group in 2026, against 12% of Democrats and leaners, according to Pew Research Center.
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US adults aged 18 to 29 who regularly get news on X made up 18% of that age group in 2026, according to Pew Research Center.
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The share of US adults who regularly get news on X fell by a third between 2020 and 2026, from 15% to 10%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: 2026 share 10% - 2020 share 15% = -5 points. Relative change -5 / 15 = -33%.
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US men were 2.5 times as likely as US women to regularly get news on X in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: Men 15% / women 6% = 2.5.
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US adults who used X for news in the last week made up 16% of online adults in 2026, down from 23% in 2025, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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US Republican voters who used X for news in the last week made up 21% of that group in 2026, against 14% of Democrat voters, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
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US Democrat voters led Republican voters by 13 points in weekly X news use in 2021, but trailed them by 7 points in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Reuters Institute data.
How we calculated it: 2021: Democrat voters 23% - Republican voters 10% = +13 points. 2026: Democrat voters 14% - Republican voters 21% = -7 points. Swing 13 + 7 = 20 points.
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Online adults in the US who used X for news in 2026 equalled two-thirds of those who used X at all, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Reuters Institute data.
How we calculated it: US share using X for news in the last week 16% / share using X for any purpose 24% = 0.67. Japan for comparison: 20 / 41 = 0.49. UK: 10 / 17 = 0.59.
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People who used X for news in the last week made up 11% of online adults in 12 selected markets in 2026, against 9% in 2014, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
| Year | Share of US adults | Share of X users |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 15% | 59% |
| 2021 | 13% | 55% |
| 2022 | 14% | 53% |
| 2023 | 12% | 53% |
| 2024 | 12% | 59% |
| 2025 | 12% | 57% |
| 2026 | 10% | 57% |
X usage among teens
Pew Research Center surveys US teens aged 13 to 17 about which platforms they use. X has lost ground with this age group for a decade.
16% of US teens used X in 2025, down from 23% in 2022 and 33% in 2014-15. By our calculation, teen use has roughly halved in a decade.
Teens now use X less than adults do. In 2025, 21% of US adults used X, against 16% of teens. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are all used by more than half of US teens.
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US teens aged 13 to 17 who use X made up 16% of teens in 2025, down from 23% in 2022, according to Pew Research Center.
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US teens aged 13 to 17 who used Twitter made up 33% of teens in 2014-15, according to Pew Research Center.
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The share of US teens who use X fell by about half between 2014-15 and 2025, from 33% to 16%, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Pew Research Center data.
How we calculated it: 2025 share 16% - 2014-15 share 33% = -17 points. Relative change -17 / 33 = -51.5%, rounded to 52%.
| Survey year | Share of teens |
|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 33% |
| 2022 | 23% |
| 2025 | 16% |
How the sources measure X
No source counts X users directly. Every figure on this page comes from a survey of people, and each survey asks a different question of a different group.
Pew's National Public Opinion Reference Survey is built to represent all US adults. Its 2026 survey took responses by web, mail and phone, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 points.
Edison and the Reuters Institute both use online samples. The Reuters Institute says these under-represent older and less affluent people, which helps explain why their shares run higher than Pew's. The Reuters Institute itself warns that its samples in Kenya, Nigeria, India and South Africa represent younger English speakers, not the whole population.
X Corp has made claims about its user numbers in press statements. These are not audited, so we have not used them. Ofcom publishes UK audience measurement for X, but its report could not be fetched for this update.
| Source | What it measures | Sample and period | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pew Research Center, social media fact sheet | Share of US adults who ever use X | 5,511 US adults, January to June 2026 | US only. Survey mode changed in 2023 and 2024. |
| Pew Research Center, news fact sheet | Share who regularly get news on X | 5,166 US adults, August 2026 | Self-reported news use. US only. |
| Pew Research Center, teens survey | Share of US teens who use X | 1,458 teens aged 13 to 17, September to October 2025 | Online panel of teens recruited through parents. |
| Edison Research, Infinite Dial | Share of Americans 12+ who currently use X | 5,020 people in January 2025. 2,050 people in January 2026 | Method changed between 2025 and 2026. |
| Reuters Institute, Digital News Report | Use of X in the last week, for any purpose and for news | About 2,000 online adults per market in 48 markets, early 2026 | Online panels. Platform questions repolled in March 2026 with 1,000 people per market. |
Frequently asked questions
How many people use X (Twitter) in 2026?
X does not publish audited user numbers. Surveys give the best guide. 18% of US adults used X in 2026, according to Pew Research Center. Across 48 markets, 17% of online adults used X in a typical week, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026.
Which country uses X the most?
Of the countries we checked in the Reuters Institute's 2026 data, Nigeria had the highest weekly use, at 56% of online adults, followed by Kenya at 52% and Japan at 41%. Both African samples are younger and mostly English-speaking. Germany was lowest at 8%. In the UK the figure was 17% and in the US 24%.
Is X losing users compared with last year?
Surveys point to a fall. The share of US adults using X dropped from 21% in 2025 to 18% in 2026, according to Pew. US weekly news use fell from 23% to 16% in Reuters Institute data. Across all markets, weekly use fell from 24% in 2021 to 17% in 2026.
Who uses X the most?
In the US, X is used most by adults under 30 (31%), men (23%), people in households earning $100,000 or more (24%) and urban adults (21%), according to Pew Research Center's 2026 survey. Republicans and Democrats use it at similar rates.
Do people still get news from X?
Yes. 57% of US X users regularly get news there, the joint highest share of any platform, according to Pew. But only 10% of all US adults do so in 2026, down from 15% in 2020.
Why do X user statistics differ so much?
Sources ask different questions. Pew asks US adults if they ever use X and found 18%. Edison asks Americans 12 and over if they currently use it and found 30%. The Reuters Institute asks about use in the last week. X's own figures are unaudited press claims.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, Americans' Use of Social Media in 2026 (fact sheet), 19 October 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: executive summary and key findings, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Pew Research Center, Social Media and News Fact Sheet, 19 October 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2026 (presentation PDF), March 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: United States, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: Nigeria, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: Kenya, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: Japan, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: United Kingdom, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: Germany, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026: Australia, 16 June 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Pew Research Center, Teens, Social Media and AI Chatbots 2025, 9 December 2025, accessed 8 November 2026. Link · Saved data copy
Changes to this page
- : Page published with Pew Research Center's social media and news fact sheets (19 October 2026) and teens report (December 2025), Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2025 and 2026, and the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026.