Report · Politics

Social media is the top source Americans use for local government news

Reading

More Americans get news about their local government from social media than from any other source; 55% use it, according to a Verasight survey conducted April 9-15, 2025.

Television newscasts follow close behind at 49%, with roughly a third turning to friends and family (33%) or a local newspaper (32%). Radio newscasts trail at 16%, and about one-in-ten (9%) use none of these sources.

Topline

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Selected responses

Social media is the top source Americans use for local government news.

Which of the following sources do you use to get news about your local government (county commission, city council, etc.)?

  • Social media 55.1%
  • TV newscast 48.9%
  • Friends and family 33.0%
  • Local newspaper 31.6%
  • Radio newscast 16.5%
  • None of these 9.0%
  • Other (please specify): 4.7%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.5%

society

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-04-09 → 2025-04-15
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.5%
Module
society

Source

Citation

Verasight MPSA Omnibus Survey #2025-026, fielded April 9-15, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.

https://verasight-mpsa-2025.tiiny.co

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.