“We have some big news right now,” the video begins. “Measles cases are surging in the United States of America.” But this isn’t a news update from a broadcast network like NBC or CBS. It’s a 60-second TikTok video from Aaron Parnas, a 26-year-old news creator with 4.2 million followers, that appears to have been filmed on an iPhone.

Parnas is among a growing number of news creators, or news influencers, who report on and discuss current events with their followers. As many traditional media outlets like newspapers, cable TV, and digital publications struggle to retain audiences and face an all-time low in public trust, social media sites have become a top news source for Americans. About 20 percent of Americans now regularly get news from influencers, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center report. Among 18-to-29-year-olds, the number is even higher, at around 40 percent.

“We have some big news right now,” the video begins. “Measles cases are surging in the United States of America.” But this isn’t a news update from a broadcast network like NBC or CBS. It’s a 60-second TikTok video from Aaron Parnas, a 26-year-old news creator with 4.2 million followers. The video appears to have been filmed on an iPhone.

Parnas is among a growing number of news creators or news influencers.  They report on and discuss current events with their followers. Many traditional media outlets like newspapers, cable TV, and digital publications are struggling to retain audiences. Because these traditional outlets face an all-time low in public trust, social media sites have become a top news source for Americans. About 20 percent of Americans now regularly get news from influencers, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center report. The number is even higher among 18-to-29-year-olds, at around 40 percent.

News creators “recognized that audiences were not necessarily satisfied with what they were getting from mainstream media,” says Summer Harlow, the associate director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin. “There was a void in the news ecosystem, and they stepped into it.”

For roughly the past century, mainstream media in the U.S. had shaped the news that reached a vast majority of Americans. Editors and reporters decided what was worthy of coverage and then presented those stories to their audiences. Journalists were meant to be impartial observers, recording the who, what, when, where, and why. But many Americans have lost faith in that model. According to a 2024 Gallup survey, just 31 percent of Americans said they trust the media to report the news “fully, accurately, and fairly,” compared with 69 percent in 1974.

News creators “recognized that audiences were not necessarily satisfied with what they were getting from mainstream media,” says Summer Harlow, the associate director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin. “There was a void in the news ecosystem, and they stepped into it.”

Mainstream media in the U.S. had shaped the news that reached a vast majority of Americans for the past hundred years. Editors and reporters decided what was worthy of coverage. They then presented those stories to their audiences. Journalists were meant to be impartial observers, recording the who, what, when, where, and why. But many Americans have lost faith in that model. According to a 2024 Gallup survey, just 31 percent of Americans said they trust the media to report the news “fully, accurately, and fairly,” compared with 69 percent in 1974.

Today’s news creators, experts say, are drawing audiences by meeting them on the platforms where they already spend time, and taking a more personable approach to sharing the news, whether they’re aggregating articles from mainstream outlets into 60-second clips or conducting long-form interviews.

“They make you feel like you’re having a conversation with somebody,” says Jess Rauchberg, a professor of communication technologies at Seton Hall University who studies the influencer industry. “An influencer feels more relatable in the ways they portray themselves and are talking to you.”

News creators can monetize these connections by getting a lot of views on social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or by selling newsletter subscriptions.

Parnas, who publishes his 90-seconds-or-less breaking news videos as many as 24 times per day on TikTok and Instagram, maintains a separate TikTok account with a million followers where he shares gardening videos and his love of sour candy.

“I use it to connect to people on a different level,” he says. “That authenticity is really important.”

V Spehar, a news creator with 3.6 million TikTok followers for their Under the Desk News account, says responding to comments and messages is part of their process after posting each video. (Spehar uses they/them pronouns.) Spehar’s goal is to feel like a peer rather than an authority.

“I think that’s what separates me from your traditional news anchor, who says things at you,” Spehar says. “This is a digital town square.”

Experts say today’s news creators are meeting audiences on the platforms where they already spend time. They are taking a more personable approach to sharing the news, whether they’re aggregating articles from mainstream outlets into 60-second clips or conducting long-form interviews.

“They make you feel like you’re having a conversation with somebody,” says Jess Rauchberg, a professor of communication technologies at Seton Hall University who studies the influencer industry. “An influencer feels more relatable in the ways they portray themselves and are talking to you.”

News creators can monetize these connections by getting a lot of views on social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, or by selling newsletter subscriptions.

Parnas publishes his 90-seconds-or-less breaking news videos as many as 24 times per day on TikTok and Instagram. He also maintains a separate TikTok account with a million followers where he shares gardening videos and his love of sour candy.

“I use it to connect to people on a different level,” he says. “That authenticity is really important.”

V Spehar, a news creator with 3.6 million TikTok followers for their Under the Desk News account, says responding to comments and messages is part of their process after posting each video. (Spehar uses they/them pronouns.) Spehar’s goal is to feel like a friend rather than an authority.

“I think that’s what separates me from your traditional news anchor, who says things at you,” Spehar says. “This is a digital town square.”

But media consumers shouldn’t just assume that a friendly or entertaining influencer is giving them an accurate account of events (see “Two Kinds of Media,” below). Because every news creator follows their own editorial standards, media experts have expressed concerns about their ability to spread misinformation, which is information that isn’t completely true or accurate, and disinformation, which is false or misleading information that’s deliberately spread to manipulate others. Many news creators are open about their personal and political views, while reporters for most mainstream outlets are expected to remain impartial and disclose any personal connections to a story. And unlike journalists, news creators often work alone, without editorial teams to shape their reporting or help catch mistakes.

But media consumers shouldn’t just assume that a friendly or entertaining influencer is giving them an accurate account of events (see “Two Kinds of Media,” below). Media experts have expressed concerns about influencers’ ability to spread misinformation, information that isn’t completely true or accurate, and disinformation, which is false or misleading information that’s deliberately spread to manipulate others. Every news creator follows their own editorial standards and many news creators are open about their personal and political views. Traditional reporters for most mainstream outlets are expected to remain impartial and disclose any personal connections to a story. And unlike journalists, news creators often work alone. There are no editorial teams to shape their reporting or help catch mistakes.

So how can you tell whether creators are providing trustworthy information? Experts say that creators committed to accuracy will cite their sources and be transparent about the process of making their content.

“We need to think about, ‘What is this person saying? Are they showing us that they’re referring to other sources?’” Rauchberg says. If it’s unclear where they’re getting their information, she adds, “we can be really misled.”

As news creators’ popularity grows, traditional media has started borrowing from their playbook. New York Times journalists now respond to reader comments and make short videos discussing their reporting. The Washington Post has a TikTok account with 1.9 million followers. And some outlets are working with creators to attract younger audiences. Spehar has served as a correspondent and social media host for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and NBC.

So how can you tell whether creators are providing trustworthy information? Experts say that creators committed to accuracy will cite their sources and be transparent about the process of making their content.

“We need to think about, ‘What is this person saying? Are they showing us that they’re referring to other sources?’” Rauchberg says. If it’s unclear where they’re getting their information, she adds, “we can be really misled.”

As news creators’ popularity grows, traditional media has started borrowing their approach. New York Times journalists now respond to reader comments. They make short videos discussing their reporting. The Washington Post has a TikTok account with 1.9 million followers. And some outlets are working with creators to attract younger audiences. Spehar has served as a correspondent and social media host for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and NBC.

But traditional media isn’t going away anytime soon; The New York Times, for one, reached a record number of subscribers earlier this year. Such publications argue that there’s still a strong demand for the original and in-depth reporting they can provide, which they say is necessary to hold powerful institutions accountable. And many news creators ultimately rely on traditional media to make their content. Says Spehar, “Creators and media can work together to better the industry overall.”

But traditional media isn’t going away anytime soon. The New York Times reached a record number of subscribers earlier this year. Such publications argue that there’s still a strong demand for the original and in-depth reporting they can provide, which they say is necessary to hold powerful institutions accountable. And many news creators ultimately rely on traditional media to make their content. Says Spehar, “Creators and media can work together to better the industry overall.”