This summary is provided by the IPR Digital Media Research Center
Pew Research Center examined Americans’ use of alternative social media sites — BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram, and Truth Social — and the type of content on the sites.
A multi-method research approach was used, including a survey of 10,188 U.S. adults on May 16-22, 2022 and content analyses of over 500,000 posts on the sites in June 2022.
Key findings include:
— 6% of respondents said they “regularly get news” from at least one of the seven sites studied.
— 65% of alternative social media news consumers said they “have found a community” of people that share their views.
— 26% of prominent alternative social media accounts appeal to right-leaning/Trump supporting views.
— 21% appeal to patriotism/pro-America views.
— 21% appeal to religious identity views.
— Most of the alternative social media sites in the study moderate their content to some extent.
— Six of the seven sites studied have moderated content.
— Two of the seven sites studied have group or channel administrators that can moderate content.
