TikTok Spreads Disinformation in Israel-Gaza War as It Rises as Primary News Source for Youth 

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A Pew study says young people who use the social media platform as a news source has more than tripled since 2020

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TikTok has become a focal point for the spread of misinformation about the Israel-Gaza war, and a new study reinforces concerns that the short form-video app is increasingly a primary news source for Americans under the age of 30.

A study from the Pew Research Center published on Wednesday found that 32% of adults 18-29 regularly scroll TikTok for news, more than a three-fold surge from 2020. The uptake of consumers turning to TikTok for news is happening at all ages, but the shift is even more pronounced among younger Americans, Pew found.

Pew Study finds a third of Americans get news from TikTok
Via Pew Research Center

The new data comes as misinformed or misleading videos about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have gone viral on TikTok in recent weeks.

Sharon Knolle

Sharon Knolle is an award-winning TV Reporter at TheWrap. She has covered entertainment news for more than 20 years for outlets including Moviefone, IMDb, USA Today, Variety, Us Weekly, Paste and the Sundance Institute. She can be reached at sharon.knolle@thewrap.com or on Twitter at @sknolle

Alexei Barrionuevo

Alexei Barrionuevo is the Business Editor at TheWrap. He previously served as an editor at Billboard, and before that as a staff writer at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He has worked as a correspondent based in Brazil, Belgium and Venezuela, and he reported from the Middle East in 2003, where…

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