The Era of Newsfluencers
A how to guide for our fragmented media landscape.
For those trying to reach next-gen audiences and consumer bases, understanding who’s shaping and influencing their point of view is essential.
Young people are opting for personality-driven news content delivered by individuals rather than organizations. These “newsfluencers” are entertainers, activists, public servants, thought leaders, business leaders, founders, and yes – at times – politicians themselves.
People constantly ask me who the top news influencers are to reach Gen Z. But the reality is that in a scattered media ecosystem like the one we live in today, there’s no one single person who delivers the news to Gen Z.
The data proves this
Pew Research Center just released a deep dive into the individuals shaping America’s news consumption habits. The results show that while 21% of adults in the U.S. get news from ‘news influencers’ on social media, the voices and personalities responsible for delivering that news vary.
When asked who they get their news from on social media:
50% of respondents said an individual
7% said a media outlet
1% said a social media site
Less than 1% said a search engine or news aggregator
42% said they don’t know or had no response… which could be a result of the fact that social media algorithms feed users news content in their explore pages or feeds
So who are these newsfluencers?
No single newsfluencer racked up more than 3% of the share of respondents who listen to them, but the most popular name in the study was Phillip DeFranco, a not-so-often talked about YouTube creator (whose political bias is hard to decipher). DeFranco, an early adopter of YouTube, has 6.6M subscribers on YouTube, 3.2M followers on TikTok and 685K on Instagram. He hosts a weekday news show on YouTube that spans politics and pop culture and posts quicker short-form clips on TikTok.
DeFranco seemed to be surprised himself that he got the top slot in this survey. After him, the top influencers were:
Right-wing pundits Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro
Left-leaning V Spehar, aka Under the Desk News (check out my interview with V from last week)
Carlos Eduardo Espina, who spoke on stage at the 2024 Democratic National Convention
Tied at 2% was President Donald Trump himself, followed at 1% by his podcaster-turned-deputy-FBI-director Dan Bongino, along with the often apolitical Mr. Beast (who has an astounding 367M followers on YouTube and 115M on TikTok).
What should we make of all of this?
If you’re trying to reach young people with news and information, here are top three things to keep in mind:
There is more than one messenger.
It can be hard to find the right person to deliver your message, but it’s also freeing. The goal is to identify the right messenger(s) for the specific topic – someone who is squarely aligned with the ethos an individual, organization, or entity is trying to push. And oftentimes, the solution is to choose more than one messenger.
Play to your strengths, it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.
Everyone trying to deliver their message to an audience has traits and hobbies that make them stand out – and more often than not, there are many sub-communities they organically align with. In a diverse media ecosystem, there’s a niche community for every subculture. Lean into that as your point of entry. Make inroads with communities you are already a part of before venturing elsewhere. If you love to cook, meal-prep with a cooking creator. If you’re a seasoned fisherman, go on a fishing show. If you’re make-up obsessed, film a get-ready-with-me video with a beauty influencer. A cat lover, find the cat channels. There’s something for everyone and engaging with groups you’re already a part of is key to authenticity.
Timing is everything.
Our national zeitgeist ebbs and flows and different influencers attract more eyeballs at certain times of the year than others. Around Thanksgiving or the holidays, cooking influencers get more hype. Right now, it’s Awards’ season, which means everyone’s talking about the best movies they saw this year. Weigh in. Collaborate with entertainment or celebrity creators in this particular moment, given that there’s more attention on them now than there will be in July. If you’re a sports-guru, choose the sport of the season. While the 2025 football season is the rear-view, focus on basketball or the upcoming baseball season.
One more thing
Young people like Trump more than ever before…The youth culture shift with Trump 2.0 continues in early approval rating data. There’s been a 9-point jump in his approval rating with those 18-34 from Feb 2017 to Feb 2025, per CNN polls from then and now.
Noteworthy reads
The young techies behind DOGE are a lightning rod for criticism but also a youth magnet for the GOP, Christine Fernando for The Associated Press
Gen Z isn’t quiet quitting. They’re rejecting outdated leadership, Jeff LeBlanc for Fast Company
This is why Gen Z aren’t applying for jobs – and it will shock you, Brooke Kato for The New York Post
From around the world
Germany’s Youth is Even More Polarized Than the Rest of Voters, Marilen Martin for Bloomberg
Wellness culture ‘forcing Gen Z women to shun contraceptive pill’, Eleanor Hayward for The Times
And more on the politics of dating…
Yesterday I joined Alex Miller of Scripps News to chat about why love and politics are move intertwined than ever before. Check it out:
