Hey, everyone! If you’re like most teens, you probably get a lot of your news (or at least, what looks like news) from your phone—scrolling on TikTok, X, or Instagram. But here’s a hot take: The people whose job it is to bring you the news—the journalists—are seriously losing faith in those platforms.
The Big Question: Inform or Manipulate?
When journalists first started using social media, the goal was 100% about informing the public and connecting with you. They saw platforms as amazing tools to:
- Filter and Verify: Help figure out which user-generated content (UGC) was real and important.
- Engage: Talk directly with their audience and build community.
They were genuinely optimistic about using the platforms to make news better and reach more people.
📉 Why Journalists Are “Souring” on the Scroll
Fast forward to today, and that enthusiasm has turned into major skepticism. The article suggests that for many journalists, the platforms are now more of a headache than a help. Why?
- đźš« The Trust Killer: Social media is full of misinformation and nasty, hateful comments (vitriol). This noise makes it hard for people to tell the difference between a reliable news source and a random post, which damages the credibility of real journalism.
- 🛡️ Under Attack: Journalists often face abuse and bad faith attacks just for doing their jobs. This online harassment is intense and frustrating.
- đź’¸ The Traffic Stops: Platforms like X and Facebook don’t send big audiences to news websites like they used to, meaning the economic benefit of using them is disappearing.
Basically, the platforms that were supposed to help them inform the public are now full of misinformation that threatens to diminish public trust and generate animosity toward journalists.
đź’ˇ The Big Pivot: Building Direct Connections
Since relying on the algorithms is becoming a bad business move and a tough place to work, journalists are making a major pivot. They aren’t trying to manipulate the platforms anymore; they are trying to avoid them.
- Newsletter Nation: You’re seeing more and more news organizations invest in newsletters to connect with you directly in your inbox.
- Direct Routes: They are focusing on cultivating direct connections—encouraging you to come straight to their website or app.
The goal remains the same: to inform the public. They’ve just decided that the best way to do that is often to circumventthe social media giants altogether.
❤️ The Unbroken Bond: Faith in You
Here’s the most important takeaway for you: Even though journalists are dealing with the platform’s toxicity and user harassment, they haven’t lost faith in the audience.
The study found that journalists still overwhelmingly believe in the value and promise of the people they are trying to reach. They still aspire to serve the public good.
The problem, according to them, isn’t the audience—it’s the platform!
What does this mean for you? As journalists search for new ways to inform you, you have to be more aware than ever of where you get your information. You have the power to seek out those direct, reliable connections they are trying to build.
Reference
- Nelson, J. L., & Perreault, G. P. (2025, November 5). Journalists are souring on social media platforms, an analysis of 11 years of Nieman Lab predictions suggests. Nieman Lab.