Social media trends: Facebook still leads for news

A Eurobarometer youth survey found that 47% of Maltese young people aged 16 to 30 get most of their news on political and social issues from social media platforms. And Facebook remains the most influential network.

The survey asked 16- to 30-year-olds to state their main sources of information on political and social issues and which social media platform they primarily use for this purpose.

Maltese young people were more likely to rely on social media platforms (47%) compared to the EU average of 42%. Conversely, they were less likely to get their news from television (32% compared to 39% in all 27 member states) or online newspapers (22% compared to 26% in the EU).

Moreover, Maltese respondents were more likely to access political information from Facebook. While Instagram, followed by TikTok, dominates as the main source of political information among young people across the EU, in Malta, Facebook remains the preferred platform.

In 11 member states, Instagram has emerged as the most popular social media platform for obtaining information on political and social issues. It is the top choice for more than half of respondents in Italy (59%), Portugal (56%), Czechia (53%), Slovakia (53%), Greece (52%), and Spain (51%).

In contrast, Malta reports the lowest share who get their news from Instagram  was recorded in Malta (26%), Lithuania (27%), and Bulgaria (28%).

TikTok is the most-selected social media platform for political and social information in Austria (50%), Hungary (49%), Germany (48%), and Sweden (46%). In contrast, Malta (13%) and Czechia (20%) had the lowest shares.

Despite its growing influence in much of Europe, TikTok has faced increasing scrutiny over data privacy and foreign influence concerns. The platform, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been accused of allowing the Chinese government access to user data – an allegation the company denies. Several countries, including the United States, Canada, and the European Union, have restricted its use on government devices over national security concerns. In some cases, officials have raised fears about TikTok’s algorithm amplifying misinformation or being used for state-backed influence campaigns, particularly during elections.

Facebook remains the most-mentioned social media platform for accessing news in 11 member states, including Lithuania (56%), Hungary (55%), Croatia (54%), Cyprus (52%), Poland (51%), Bulgaria (48%), Latvia (43%), and Malta (39%). In contrast, less than one in five respondents use it for this purpose in Spain (11%), Germany (15%), and the Netherlands (19%).

The share of respondents using Elon Musk’s X to gather political and social information is highest in Ireland (37%) and Spain (36%). In contrast, only about one in 10 respondents in Austria and Hungary (both 10%) and Slovakia (8%) use it. In Malta, 25% of young people rely on X for accessing news which has not only dismantled its fact checking role but has lately been used by its owner to promote far right views and parties.

YouTube was the most-selected platform for political and social information in only four countries: Ireland (46%), Romania (42%), Finland (37%), and Belgium (34%). In Malta, 36% of young people cited YouTube as their main source of news.

The survey also found that 59% of Maltese young people and 44% of all EU respondents reported being frequently exposed to disinformation on social media.

Over the past decade, social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, have been at the centre of concerns over Russian disinformation and the spread of far-right narratives. Extremist groups have used these platforms to spread false or misleading claims on immigration, climate policies, and European governance.

The European Union has repeatedly warned about Russian state-backed propaganda efforts targeting European audiences, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine. Meta (Facebook’s parent company) and X have been accused of failing to curb the spread of misleading content, including pro-Kremlin narratives and conspiracy theories designed to sow division in Europe.