While many people watch YouTube videos for entertainment, the platform is also home to a variety of news channels. A recent Pew Research Center study looks at the role these channels play in the distribution of political news and current events. It does so in two ways: by surveying YouTube news consumers and analyzing the content of a sample of popular YouTube news channels.
The survey component of the report asked people who regularly get news on YouTube why they do so and some of their experiences with the platform. When asked to describe in their own words why they think YouTube is a unique place to get news, most responders cited the availability of different opinions and views on a topic, as well as access to sources that are not in the mainstream media.
TuttoYouTube is highly loyal to its favorite channels, with three in ten saying they feel loyalty to one or more channels. And nearly half say they find it easier to understand current events when they follow a news channel on YouTube.
In the analysis of a subset of the most popular news channels on YouTube, half of all news videos analyzed cited some type of source; the media was the most common citation type (only cited clips from external news organizations were counted; statements by politicians or other sources weren’t included). The majority of news channel content that cited a politician was sourced from an independent channel—YouTubers who have built their followings through the site and may not have been public figures before they started their channels.