Having an influence vs. being an influencer
Everything is at our fingertips, with social media. Your next dinner recipe, a new makeup product or a unique vacation spot, all ideas coming from one of the many social media platforms.
Most of these posts and videos with trending ideas come from your favorite influencer, someone whose casual advertisements are engaging and worthy enough to pause your scrolling.
Woman recording herself with a camera, SquareSpace image.
And there’s a reason you're seeing so much of it.
Influencer content is flooding user’s feeds, taking up the majority of their algorithm, because it’s being prioritized by social media platforms, according to an English research report. The Institute for Public Policy Research in London says that 35% of users' feeds comes from influencers alone.
Now what space does that leave for journalists on social media?
The stories journalists share are competing with viral “Get ready with me” videos, dancing pets and funny food fails. In the race for content and clicks on social, I think the work of journalists is increasingly important.
A journalists’ job is to fact check, hold people of power accountable and share information in a digestible way. This is more importan than ever.
On social media, there’s an influx of people calling themselves journalists, posting to social platforms with information that isn’t verified or completely accurate.
This makes it even more crucial for journalists to double down and hold space on social media.
Journalists have a space on social media.
Social media is helpful for journalists too. A wide audience of people coming across your work.
How U.S. adults are finding news on social media, Pew Research Center (2025).
72% of adults ages 18-49 said when they see news on social media it’s because they happen to come across it, according to a Pew Research fact sheet.
While journalists should be on social media, I don’t think they should be thought of as influencers, rather as people who are having an influence on their community.
As a student-journalist, I’m learning the tricks of the trade in journalism. It’s our job to inform, verify and share valuable and credible information, even if that means pushing through the cat videos.
