2. How we created a list of popular news influencers, and where they post

Discussion of news, politics, and civic issues is widespread on social media, reflecting a significant portion of the online conversation happening across various platforms.

We found more than 28,000 accounts related to news based on keyword searches, but only about 2,500 were consistent news influencers engaged in civic discussions regularly.

Despite the focus on U.S. issues, we couldn't verify the location of individual account owners, indicating a potential gap in understanding local audience engagement.

After rigorous selection and analysis, the final sample consisted of 500 influencers who consistently engage with news content, providing a clearer picture of social media's news landscape.

Read at Pew Research Center