Liberal Democrats most likely to have learned about election from Facebook

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About four-in-ten Americans (37%) had learned about the election in the past week from Facebook. Liberal Democrats (51%) were more likely to say this than both conservative (34%) and moderate or liberal Republicans (33%). Liberal Democrats were also more likely to have learned from Facebook than conservative or moderate Democrats (28%). More liberal Democrats use Facebook to begin with, which contributes to this partisan split.

However, this difference persists among Facebook users. About half of conservative Republican Facebook users (51%) learned about the election on the platform, a smaller share than the 62% of liberal Democratic Facebook users who said the same. Moderate or liberal Republican Facebook users (46%) and conservative or moderate Democratic Facebook users (43%) were also less likely to have learned about the election on the site. And, while younger Americans overall are particularly likely to rely on social media sites – not just Facebook – for election news, it stands out as a particularly common source for one particular group of young people: Millennial Democrats who were engaged in the primaries. Nearly three-in-four Millennial Democrats (74%) who said they were very likely to participate in their state’s primary or caucus had learned about the election from social media in the past week, compared with 50% of their Republican counterparts.


Liberal Democrats most likely to have learned about election from Facebook