Why College Students Prefer News Daddy Over The New York Times

Ankit Khanal gets his news from News Daddy. More than 20 times a day, Khanal, a sophomore astatine George Mason University, opens TikTok to person nan biggest stories of nan time delivered to him by a bleach-blonde 26-year-old named Dylan Page, 1 of nan starring faces successful a increasing organization of news influencers. Based successful nan United Kingdom, Page began posting contented connected TikTok successful August 2020 and has since grown his “News Daddy Empire,” his posts amassing complete 1.5 cardinal likes. His contented spans breaking news, politics, popular culture, and sometimes, individual workout videos — delivered successful nan progressively common, enthusiastic “YouTube accent.” While Page doesn’t explicitly mention his sources successful each video, News Daddy appears to get his accusation from a operation of accepted news outlets, societal media, and different influencers. 

As a machine subject major, Khanal says he’s cautious of algorithms and their effects connected media consumption. He moreover wrote and delivered a reside connected nan taxable to his peers for 1 of his classes. The thesis: “If you recognize it aliases not, algorithms are determining everything connected societal media. From nan contented that you interact pinch to nan opinions you shape connected nan app. They are secretly affecting your life successful ways that tin beryllium harmful.” The irony is not mislaid connected him. Khanal understands TikTok is not ever a reliable source; his position thoroughly explained really misinformation is speedy to dispersed connected societal media. If Khanal wants to fact-check a video, he browses nan remark section. “Most of nan time, if nan video is large enough, you will spot thing successful nan apical comments telling you, like, ‘Hey, this is conscionable wrong.’ That’s erstwhile I would really look.”

And yet, alternatively than publication accepted journalistic outlets that do nan activity of reporting, he still gets astir of his news from aggregators for illustration News Daddy. Social media is simply a much appealing news root for Khanal, who says he’s turned disconnected by nan biases and governmental leanings of accepted news outlets. News influencers, connected nan different hand, are “actually connected to nan group they’re getting their news for.” Khanal’s behaviour is not unusual. Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab polled 1,026 students astatine 181 two- and four-year institutions from December 19th to 23rd, 2024, connected their media literacy practices. In January of this year, nan survey results were published, showing that societal media is simply a “top news source” for astir 3 successful 4 students. Of those surveyed, “half  astatine slightest somewhat spot platforms specified arsenic Instagram and TikTok to present that news and different captious accusation accurately.” And connection of rima classed 2nd among students’ astir celebrated news sources, an avenue for half of those surveyed. Legacy media, chiefly newspapers, connected nan different hand, are regular news sources for conscionable 2 successful 10 students, moreover though they bespeak that newspapers are much apt to convey meticulous information. 

Professor Karen North, laminitis of nan University of Southern California’s Annenberg integer media program, agrees pinch nan study’s findings. At nan opening of each of her classes, North discusses pinch her students nan day’s astir applicable headlines. She asks them wherever they caught upwind of those events. The 3 astir communal answers among her students each semester: “They get their news from Instagram and TikTok. And from their professors.” But North says schoolroom newsgetting is simply a distant third, acold down societal media’s grip connected student news sourcing culture.

“I spot nan TikTok, I spot more, I get interested, I look it up online.”

Zau Lahtaw, a inferior astatine Syracuse University, says he besides gets his news from scrolling connected TikTok, chiefly from Dylan Page, arsenic good arsenic from a talking food — styled aft nan animated news anchor that delivers “breaking news” successful SpongeBob SquarePants. “I don’t know. It’s conscionable funny,” Lahtaw says.

There are respective celebrated talking food accounts connected Instagram, nan astir celebrated of which — @realtalkingfish, self-titled “America’s #1 news source!” — uploads regular news snippets to its 1.4 cardinal followers. But location are countless pages crossed some Instagram and TikTok that deploy an AI-generated type of Bikini Bottom’s aquatic anchor to scope millions of viewers. Lahtaw says he doesn’t actively hunt for these pages, but connected TikTok, nan videos popular up connected his provender anyway. And if nan communicative interests him, he’ll beryllium done nan video. That’s really he learned of Israel’s strikes connected subject and atomic accommodation successful Iran. Lahtaw had been scrolling done his TikTok For You page — arsenic he usually does for 2 to 3 hours a time — erstwhile he came crossed nan food news anchor explaining nan onslaught had transpired earlier that morning. Lahtaw searched Google to cheque if nan onslaught was real, and remembers confirming that it was, though he can’t callback if he’d publication an article from CNN aliases ABC.

Just complete a week later, Lahtaw learned from News Daddy that nan US launched subject strikes against Iran. After that first video, his provender was instantly flooded pinch posts astir getting drafted for a imaginable World War III. He watched a fewer of these videos earlier returning to Google to verify that nan draught was confined to memes. “I spot nan TikTok, I spot more, I get interested, I look it up online.”

The TikTok-to-Google pipeline is not unsocial to Lahtaw. Among nan 18 assemblage students I said to for this story, this fact-checking chimney was overwhelmingly pervasive; each students were connected either TikTok aliases Instagram aliases some and often turned to Google aft seeing news connected their feeds that they wanted to verify. North says her students do similarly, though astir don’t google to publication articles: “They hunt aliases google things and they only read, for nan astir part, nan AI consequence arsenic a shortcut, and they conscionable presume that it’s correct.” She says, for her students, “AI is nan caller benignant of Wikipedia.”

Stanford sophomore Zachary Gottlieb is nan Opinions conception managing editor for The Stanford Daily. Through nan school, Gottlieb has free entree to publications for illustration The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic — and he says he trusts nan sources Stanford provides. Each morning, he browses regular newsletters and sounds articles that drawback his oculus — usually nationalist and world headlines. Throughout nan day, his telephone buzzes pinch emails and alerts connected processing and breaking stories. Sometimes, he sounds a fewer articles earlier going to sleep. 

But moreover erstwhile he’s not actively seeking retired nan news, his vulnerability to societal media is relentless. On Instagram and TikTok, extracurricular of posts by followed publications, it’s impossible, during his 1 to 2 hours of regular scrolling, to debar posts from News Daddy aliases chap news-oriented influencers. Gottlieb uses words for illustration “ubiquitous” and “chronic” to qualify nan ineludible onslaught of headlines. “Nowadays, it could beryllium anywhere. You unfastened your telephone aliases you unfastened Instagram to spell DM personification aliases hunt thing up wholly unrelated aliases unfastened TikTok to relax and conscionable beryllium deed pinch something.”

Hoping to relax successful nan day of September 10th, Gottlieb opened TikTok and was met pinch an infographic detailing Charlie Kirk’s shooting. Over nan frenzied first hours aft nan fatal attack, Gottlieb saw schematic videos of Kirk being fatally changeable while speaking astatine an arena astatine Utah Valley University — each clip racking up millions of views, moreover from viewers who did not want to spot them. “‘Wait, is this real? Is this, like, a joke aliases something?’” Gottlieb wondered astatine first. “Obviously, I verified.” He googled it. “And past later, evidently aft it was confirmed that he was, successful fact, killed, location were beardown reactions, like, everywhere, obviously. And past I saw galore Instagram stories, arsenic happens pinch a batch of these kinds of things.”

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In Instagram’s early, saturated years, nan emblematic teen scrolling done their provender would person seen vibrant picnic photos, filtered sunsets, and colorful snapshots of a Starbucks Frappuccino. Today, galore feeds person traded effervescent aesthetics for infographic activism, turquoise for text. In nan aftermath of nan 2020 Black Lives Matter activity and arsenic Instagram continues to grow its carousel cap, nan level has evolved into a favored abstraction for activists and students to for illustration and stock their authorities successful nan shape of posts. 

Politics-related contented characterizes 80 percent — a percent by her ain estimation — of what Harvard freshman Aria-Vue Daugherty sees connected her feed. She swipes done dozens of activism-centered stories, posts, and reposts regular from friends. “Most of my friends I person made done various types of governmental organizing, truthful I consciousness for illustration astir group I travel are reposting news and that usually comes successful nan shape of either immoderate random benignant of politically inclined personification talking astatine you, from a reel aliases infographics, usually connected their stories.” Sometimes, if she comes crossed a station she resonates with, she’ll repost it onto her ain story. 

Daugherty regularly sounds The New York Times, USA Today, The Associated Press, The Harvard Crimson, and nan occasional articles from The Economist and The Atlantic. Though she says she tries to beryllium intentional astir her sources, nan mostly of nan news she sees and sounds is what pops up connected Instagram, posts from sites she follows, aliases peers’ reposts. (In opposition to TikTok, Instagram tends to show users much posts from nan accounts they take to travel and less random viral videos.) When Daugherty opened Instagram while connected field connected May 22nd, she estimates she saw astatine slightest 100 posts from peers — reposted infographics, reels — reacting to nan news that nan Department of Homeland Security had revoked Harvard’s certification to enroll world students. (International students dress up complete a 4th of nan school’s full enrollment.) She checked an article from The Harvard Crimson to make judge it was true. Instagram, she says, is simply a convenient introduction point, a speedy measurement to enactment up to date. “I deliberation it would person taken maine longer to spell and cheque my email and publication nan Crimson daily briefing.”

By midday, it seemed for illustration “everyone was very aware” of nan news. Over nan adjacent fewer weeks, Daugherty reposted infographics and articles from nan Crimson. “The slightest I tin do is dispersed nan connection and show group and astatine slightest effort to raise consciousness successful this mini measurement by reposting it and sharing my thoughts that this is, you know, deplorable and reaching retired to my world friends.” Daugherty says she was reasoning of her roommate and 1 of her champion friends, an world student from Malaysia. “I had immoderate bid of mind to cognize that, okay, group are doing things. People aren’t freaking retired nan measurement I am.”

In precocious June, a national judge blocked nan Donald Trump administration’s effort to barroom world students from Harvard. Daugherty publication an article successful nan Crimson the time of. This time, she says she saw “maybe five” posts astir nan development. She had respective conversations pinch friends who did not cognize astir nan update. 

“There decidedly was a gap,” she says. “Everybody knew astir nan first headline. It decidedly seems for illustration astir group didn’t cognize astir nan 2nd headline, isolated from for those who were straight impacted by it.” Thinking backmost connected it, Daugherty doesn’t cognize why she didn’t station thing connected Instagram astir nan judge’s blockage herself, though she admits it would person been adjuvant to stock nan news online. 

Khanal had an acquisition akin to Daugherty’s. When we said successful October, coincidentally connected nan aforesaid time millions of group mobilized for a 2nd information of No Kings protests, Khanal was amazed it was a nationalist movement. “I thought it was a Boston thing,” he says, referring to a TikTok he remembers seeing retired of nan area during nan first protests successful June.

This dilemma is thing Khanal reflects successful his position astir media consumption. In his outline, he dedicates a subsection to nan algorithm’s influences: “Because group presume they are successful control, they don’t mobility nan repeated ideas and beliefs.”

In nan study published successful January, which recovered that 72 percent of assemblage students get their news from societal media, conscionable 2 successful 3 students said they regularly cheque for accuracy, surveying for biases aliases cross-checking pinch different sources. And conscionable half of students surveyed said they checked nan accusation and identified sources earlier sharing it connected their societal media. From her decades school media classes, North is capable to reaffirm that trend, 1 she says has risen successful caller years, and vocalize another: “I judge that from what students say, they get a heads up astir nan news, they get benignant of nan headlines and nan basal premise of nan news from Instagram. And they get persuasive opinions from TikTok,” she says.

As Daugherty says, Instagram and TikTok tin beryllium adjuvant tools, expediting nan dispersed of information, keeping her updated connected headlines that mightiness different gaffe done nan cracks. The different broadside of that taste coin is that Lahtaw already knows he is susceptible to misinformation. “I tin tell, like, our procreation is going to beryllium scammed successful nan early by AI and stuff,” he says.

Lahtaw says he sees galore AI-generated videos connected TikTok. In nan property of AI deepfakes, it is getting harder to separate what’s existent and what’s fabricated. In July, an AI-generated video of bunnies bouncing connected a trampoline went viral, drafting complete 240 cardinal views and 25 cardinal likes. Among nan top-liked comments are “Please show maine this is real” and “This is nan first clip AI ever sewage me.” In August, an AI-generated video of orca trainer Jessica Radcliffe being killed was posted to TikTok. The hoax quickly went viral, and nan clone footage circulated wide connected societal media. As pinch nan bunny video, millions were deceived.

Khanal admitted he erstwhile posted an AI-generated image to TikTok arsenic a joke. It was a image of a forearm and, inked crossed it, a Roblox-related tattoo. “The astir clone tattoo ever,” he says. “And group were genuinely believing me.” The station was seen astir 190,000 times. And galore of nan comments were from enraged viewers, their reactions spurred by a seemingly genuine belief — moreover arsenic Khanal had posted nan TikTok pinch “#joke” successful its description.  

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College inferior Barnett Salle-Widelock studies governmental subject astatine UCLA. He says he’s disillusioned by TikTok, which he says is “blatantly dedicated” to getting him to “doomscroll.” He yet uninstalled nan app to debar “doomscrolling” — a believe becoming much communal among assemblage students, who, connected average, use societal media for six aliases much hours daily. But Salle-Widelock still uses Instagram. Though astir of his For You page existent property is basketball, golf, and memes, he gets nan occasional video aliases infographic from The New York Times, nan Los Angeles Times, CNN, and his field insubstantial — publications he follows for his news. Sometimes, his provender will besides show him viral headlines from nan BBC and ABC News. Outside of Instagram and nan uncommon subreddit, Salle-Widelock says he doesn’t activity retired headlines, though he has an appreciation for accepted media. “I wish that I was a benignant of worldly personification that was sitting location pinch a newspaper each Sunday greeting aliases something.” But why would he be? It’s easier to person nan headlines picked and laid retired for him, he says, accessible by nan speedy swipe of a thumb. 

Toby Strawser, a inferior astatine Lewis & Clark College, spends 15 to 20 minutes a time keeping himself up to day pinch nan news. In nan morning, he skims a regular newsletter from The New York Times and Letters from an American, a newsletter astir nan history down existent authorities by historiographer Heather Cox Richardson (it is nan third-largest US authorities newsletter connected Substack, down The Free Press and The Bulwark). Outside of these emails and a subscription to a fewer newspapers for illustration The Washington Post, each now and again, his family will person nan news connected — “NBC News aliases thing for illustration that.” He has relatives moving for nan national government, truthful he says his family is much inclined to enactment engaged and progressive pinch news. Strawser besides belongs to a assemblage newsgathering niche that seems progressively rare; he besides subscribes to section news, peculiarly The Carmel Pine Cone, a play newspaper published successful Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, wherever he is from.

Harvard sophomore James Pippin likewise spends astir 20 minutes a time getting his headlines from Apple News, reference articles betwixt business and economics classes. “They’ve sewage a bully dispersed connected there,” he says. “It goes each crossed nan spectrum, from CNN to Fox News.” He follows a fewer news sites connected Instagram, including The New York Times, and says he tries not to return infographic activism excessively seriously. “I person made infographics earlier truthful I cognize really random and unreliable they tin be. I’m a small cautious, but I deliberation I’m astir apt a small much cautious than astir of my peers.” Like Daugherty, Pippin learned of Trump’s proclamation to artifact world students from Harvard done an Instagram post. He went to Google and verified nan news by reference an article from The New York Times. “If it sounds crazy, I effort to vet it earlier I judge it.”

“As you turn up, you’re much progressive successful society,” he imagines. “I deliberation it’s a thing.”

Headlines are expensive. Paywalls aren’t helping. According to a Pew Research Center study conducted successful March, 83 percent of Americans opportunity they person not paid for news successful nan past year. There are a fewer financial concessions for assemblage students. Many colleges — including Harvard — supply free integer entree to The New York Times through an “Academic Pass” program. And assemblage papers, for illustration nan Daily Bruin and The Stanford Daily often connection national, global, and campus-centered headlines for free. 

But are these prime options much accessible, much attractive, than scrolling to person headlines handed retired connected societal media? Salle-Widelock doesn’t deliberation so. “It’s funny, because that feels wrong, and I consciousness for illustration I should beryllium doing my owed diligence and doing my ain research, but it’s for illustration nan curated provender and nan easiness of conscionable having nan header picked retired for you. It’s each correct there. It’s each successful 1 azygous site.”

Lahtaw suspects he’ll yet outgrow societal media scrolling and, successful turn, root his news elsewhere. “As you turn up, you’re much progressive successful society,” he imagines. “I deliberation it’s a thing. When you mature and you want to cognize what’s going connected successful nan world, you go much interested.” When he graduates successful 4 semesters pinch a grade successful machine engineering, Lahtaw says he’ll move to accepted media, metamorphosing into nan benignant of coffee-sipping, page-turning, “worldly person” that Salle-Widelock describes arsenic obsolete for Gen Z. “I do deliberation my procreation neither wants to nor will ever devour news successful that manner.”

Until then, nan algorithm is still nan appeal. Salle-Widelock has travel to nan conclusion that he, and nan mostly of his undergrad peers, get their news from societal media for 2 superior reasons: The first, it’s a conscious, cost-efficient, and convenient prime guided by nan dopamine unreserved of an algorithmic addiction. The second, possibly it’s Mark Zuckerberg “attacking” his brain. This was nan moving taxable among nan assemblage students I said to for this story: Almost each of them were alert of nan pitfalls of getting their news from societal media, though nary seemed willing successful changing their habits.

Khanal’s position outlines nan various and detrimental effects of algorithms, pinch subsections ranging from really they create “echo chambers and a deficiency of diversity” to their domiciled successful expediting nan dispersed of clone news to “actively disorient nan person’s position of nan world.” But wrong his 3 pages of neatly organized, highlighted notes, there’s conscionable 1 condemnation that offers what tin only beryllium vaguely construed arsenic immoderate benignant of solution, a proposal to mediate this addiction to algorithms: “The adjacent clip you’re scrolling done your provender support successful mind that it’s meant to beryllium addictive.”

But that precept is much of an afterthought astir nights erstwhile Khanal scrolls connected TikTok until he’s tired capable to autumn asleep. Tucked into furniture and absorbed by nan phone’s glow, he scrolls done hundreds of videos — astir of them memes. For each 100 aliases truthful of those comedic videos, “four aliases five” of them are news-oriented. Of that fraction, he says isn’t ever judge what’s existent aliases fake. But Khanal knows for definite that pinch nan eventual, algorithmic swipe of his thumb, he will spot a station from News Daddy.