Social media platforms have become central to how citizens stay informed. Shifts in citizens’ engagement with news (i.e., how they like, comment on, follow, or search such content) and emerging issues such as news avoidance have raised questions about the degree to which social media foster or hinder news engagement. In this study, we combine data from a survey and data donations of digital traces from four social media platforms, specifically Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube (N = 314), to understand how citizens engage with news across different social media platforms. Overall, our results indicate the multi-layeredness of news engagement, which is influenced by characteristics of users, platforms, outlets, and shifts over time. Moreover, the study points out the relevance of digital traces for observing news engagement across different platforms.

Hase, V., Ozornina, N., Lechner, M., Kutlar, L., Schmidbauer, E., & Haim, M. (6/2025). How Do Audiences Engage With News on Social Media? Employing Data Donations to Advance Multi-Platform Perspectives on News Engagement. Presented at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, CO. (content_copy)