Survey shows teenagers rely on TikTok and Snapchat for news but don’t fully trust it

A survey of more than a thousand teenagers found that while young people primarily get their news from social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat, they do not have much trust in the information they find there. About 20% of young people, two in ten, rate their trust in news media at 5 or below, representing a sizable group with virtually no confidence in the media.

Research by Newcom and Pinch, published in the National Media Trust Monitor, shows that roughly 80% of young people use social media for news. They give Snapchat and TikTok an average reliability score of 6.2, while Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, and X score just above passing. In contrast, traditional outlets like NOS, NRC, and de Volkskrant are trusted more, with scores approaching 8. Trust ratings differ by age: 12- to 14-year-olds give a score of 6.6, whereas 15- to 17-year-olds are more skeptical, rating it 6.2.

Researchers note that many young people do not actively look for news, preferring to let it come to them. “They are by no means disengaged from news, but their approach is different from older generations. News often reaches them via platforms rather than through deliberate consumption,” the study concludes. On average, young people follow just 4.6 news outlets, compared with 6.2 for adults.

Young people view algorithms as both helpful and concerning. They like that news reaches them directly but worry about filter bubbles and how these systems can spread misinformation.

Teenagers show little appetite for AI-written articles. Over half of those surveyed (66%) believe fully AI-generated articles are unacceptable, and fewer than one in six accept them. Additionally, more than half report encountering a significant amount of fake news.

A 2025 European study found that 76% of young people had encountered misinformation or fake news within the past week. While roughly 70% of young people believe they can identify fake news, researchers caution that they frequently overrate their media literacy skills.

The 1,021 young respondents are part of a broader study of 8,090 people in the Netherlands. Researchers analyzed 64 news outlets in total, lending credibility to the comparison between NOS/NRC and TikTok. The data was collected recently, in November 2025.