Blog Post #1: My Top 5 News Sources

1 - YouTube

YouTube is my go-to source of information. Whether it is watching independent YouTubers' news channels or mainstream accounts like Fox News or MSNBC, it gives me a wide array of sources and points to listen to and visually understand. I feel like YouTube is the Times Square of social media, where all differing opinions come together and are available at the press of a button. The reason why it's my number one source is that it is not censored or subject to manipulation. A prime example of this is the upload date, like count, and subscriber count from an authentic channel that they are watching. I am a visual learner, so reading an article about politics or current events doesn't mean as much to me as a video with real examples of those certain implications at hand. I would recommend YouTube to those who understand visual imagery, and to those who can't focus on one thing at a given time. 

2 - Instagram

Instagram is a prime example of a platform used for everything, but it is typically more informative when used correctly. The key reason Instagram is used for news and information is essentially its efficiency and reliability in posting promptly. The other upside of this platform is an active audience that can engage and interact with those who post that information. Whether it is fact-checking or simply expressing gratitude to those who provide useful knowledge, it is helpful to have an open-ended system to circulate information. Giving people a chance to voice their opinions on important matters will be crucial to prevent any government overreach or unnecessary control. As a whole, I believe Instagram is a good tool to use if you know the inherent risks associated with it, including misinformation and potentially disinformation.

3 - X

X, known as Twitter, is a go-to platform for live and current-event updates. This social media platform serves as a multi-use site. It allows users to post anything and everything from sports updates to political news, and is commonplace for public interaction. Whether good or bad for engagement, it helps give a sense of real-life situations through mostly uncensored speech. In my opinion, you can always count on Twitter as a breeding ground for nonsense, but in totality, it is a place for collective speech. 

  

4 - Reddit

Reddit contains public forums where Redditors can discuss important topics and share their own thoughts. This platform is easy to understand. Unlike YouTube and Instagram, Reddit uses an upvote system. This pushes posts with more upvotes to the forefront of pages, whereas posts with more negative votes (downvotes) will be relegated to a less focused section in a group. Reddit has community groups that include different topics. This organization helps Redditors find their interests without having to request or sift through pages. Regarding news and information, there are plenty of ways to utilize Reddit for daily information consumption. In my findings, one way to do this is to join groups and engage with other users; the algorithm pushes these topics to your home page. 

5 - Threads

Threads' main objective was to become a direct competitor to X (Formerly Twitter). This platform is an addition to Instagram and allows users to post videos and pictures with descriptions. It is a great way to find news and information separate from Instagram's app. Although Threads is integrated with Instagram, it serves as a separate account and is useful if you want to post information without directly using your Instagram account. It may be a little difficult to find news and information efficiently, as it is an algorithm that pushes the hottest topics and most controversial posts to the top of your feed; this is why it is lower in my rankings.

IMAGE CREDITS:

Carter, A. (2023, Nov 16). "Where Americans get their news: New data from Pew Research." 
       PRDAILY. (https://www.prdaily.com/where-americans-get-their-news-new-data-from-pew-research/)