Survey Finds Nearly 40% Of Young Americans Rely On Influencers For News

A new Pew Research Center survey reveals that young Americans increasingly rely on social media influencers for news, with the majority of these influencers being men and leaning politically to the right. 

The survey found that while one in five U.S. adults regularly consumes news from online "news influencers" who discuss current events, the figure rises to nearly 40% among young adults aged 18 to 29. Among those who turn to influencers for news, 65% said it helped shape their understanding of current events and civic issues.

Conducted during three weeks in July and August, as the presidential election campaign ramped up, the study analyzed 500 popular news influencers with followings exceeding 100,000 and surveyed 10,658 Americans about their news habits. Influencers and podcasters, including Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper, played significant roles in campaign strategies. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump both leveraged these platforms, with Trump specifically engaging "manosphere" influencers to connect with male voters.

"News influencers have emerged as one of the key alternatives to traditional outlets as a news and information source for a lot of people, especially younger folks. And these influencers have really reached new levels of attention and prominence this year amid the presidential election," Galen Stocking, a senior computational social scientist at the Pew Research Center, said in a statement. "We thought it was really important to look at who is behind some of the most popular accounts - the ones that aren't news organizations, but actual people."

The study revealed that, despite allegations of right-wing censorship, news influencers were more likely to lean conservative. Among them, 27% explicitly identified as Republican or pro-Trump, compared to 21% who identified as liberal. On Facebook, conservative news influencers were three times more prevalent than liberals (39% vs. 13%), while on Instagram, conservatives also outnumbered liberals, 30% to 25%.

"Many Republicans have long believed that social media sites censor conservative viewpoints. But overall, more news influencers explicitly present a politically right-leaning orientation than a left-leaning one in their account bios, posts, websites or media coverage," Pew said.

The study found that most news influencers have no affiliation with traditional news outlets, with 77% reporting no past or current ties to media organizations. Influencers who are affiliated with news organizations were less likely to openly express a clear political stance. However, when they did share political views, they were more likely to align with right-leaning news sources.

Unlike trained journalists, social media influencers often mix personal opinions with reporting, presenting views as facts. While news organizations separate reporting and opinion, influencers typically produce content, such as podcasts or newsletters, that doesn't distinguish between factual reporting and opinionated commentary.

During the final months of the election, political content from news influencers became critical for campaigns, as they used their large, loyal followings to engage undecided voters. Unlike political TV ads, influencers aren't required to disclose whether they are paid by candidates to discuss certain issues or express opinions.

While both presidential candidates engaged with influencers, President-elect Trump primarily sought out influencers who were supportive of his campaign and avoided those who might challenge his political record or policies. This strategy gave many young voters a largely favourable view of Trump as a candidate.

The Pew study also found that the news influencer space was predominantly male, with 63% identifying as male compared to just 30% female. This gender disparity was consistent across most platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, X, and Instagram, where men outnumbered women by two to one.

TikTok had the smallest gender gap and was the only platform where conservative influencers did not outnumber liberals. Influencers on TikTok were also more likely to show support for LGBTQ rights.

In the aftermath of the election, many social media users and public figures left X due to its owner, Elon Musk, openly supporting Trump and spreading misleading election claims. This led to millions of new sign-ups for Bluesky, which quickly rose to the top of the Apple App Store.

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Earth Had Ring System Similar To Saturn Roughly 466 Million Years Ago: Study

Like Saturn, Earth may have also had its ring system circling the planet 466 million years ago.

These rings seem to have existed during the Ordovician Period when the Earth's life forms and plate tectonics witnessed significant changes after a peak in meteorite strikes, a study published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters said.

The researchers have based their hypothesis on the positioning of nearly two dozen impact craters -- all placed within 30 degrees of the Earth's equator. This signals that these meteoroids might have rained down from a rocky ring around the planet, the study said.

Andrew Tomkins, a geologist and professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said it was "statistically unusual" getting 21 craters all relatively close to the equator. "It shouldn't happen. They should be randomly distributed," Tomkins, also the lead author of the study, told CNN.

Besides shedding light on the origins of the spike in meteorite impacts, the latest hypothesis further tries to answer an unexplained event in history -- the global deep freeze, which remains among the coldest climate events in the planet's history.

Near the end of the Ordovician, this period is considered one of the coldest in the last 500 million years, Earth.com reported.

Scientists have suggested the ring system might have cast a shadow over the Earth, thereby blocking sunlight and causing temperatures to drop on the planet.

Earlier, scientists suggested a large asteroid broke apart within the solar system and created the meteorites that hit the Earth during the Ordovician Period. However, Tomkins claimed such an impact could have likely randomly distributed the strikes like the craters on the Moon.

In the latest study, the researchers hypothesise that a large asteroid, measuring around 7.5 miles (12 kilometres) in diameter, had reached the planet's Roche limit -- the distance at which the celestial body gets enough gravitational pull to break the approaching body.

This may have taken place around 9,800 miles (15,800 kilometres) from the planet if the measurements of past rubble-pile asteroids are to be considered.

Tomkins claimed the asteroid might have been largely hit by other collisions.

He added that the right might have formed along the equator due to the planet's equatorial bulge -- similar to the ones of Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.

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Explained: Why Saudi Arabia Executed Over 100 Foreigners This Year

Saudi Arabia executed 101 foreigners in 2024, the largest number of people put to death in a single year in the kingdom's history. The figure represents nearly three times the number of foreigners executed in 2023 and 2022 (34 each year).

Human rights organisations have accused the kingdom of an unprecedented escalation in its use of the death penalty.

Drug-related offences drove many of these deaths. Of the 92 executions linked to drug crimes this year, 69 involved foreign nationals.

"Foreigners are the most vulnerable group," Taha al-Hajji, the legal director of the European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), was quoted as saying by the news agency AFP. "They are often victims of major drug dealers and subjected to a series of violations from the moment of their arrest until their execution."

As the number of executions continues to rise, families of those on death row are left in constant fear.

"Families of foreign nationals on death row are understandably terrified that their loved one will be next," said Jeed Basyouni from the anti-death penalty group Reprieve.

He called the situation an "unprecedented execution crisis."

According to AFP, foreigners executed this year included 21 from Pakistan, 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, nine from Egypt, eight from Jordan and seven from Ethiopia. There were also three each from Sudan, India and Afghanistan, and one each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea and the Philippines.

The kingdom has been under increasing scrutiny for its use of the death penalty, with international organisations such as Amnesty International citing Saudi Arabia as the third-largest executor of prisoners worldwide, behind China and Iran.

The high number of executions this year contradicts claims of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who, in a 2022 interview with The Atlantic, said the kingdom had abolished the death penalty, except for cases involving murder or individuals posing a threat to many lives.

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Video: Fliers Panic As Phone Catches Fire Inside Plane At US Airport

People aboard a Southwest Airlines flight in the United States were forced to evacuate after a passenger's smartphone battery caught fire and damaged a seat. The Boeing 737-700 was preparing for take-off in Denver, Colorado, on Friday, when the incident was reported, forcing all 108 passengers to deboard immediately.

Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline said that passengers in the back seats of the plane fled with the help of rear emergency slides. Those in the front seats had to reportedly use the front door via the jet bridge to get out of the aeroplane.

A passengers cellphone caught on fire after boarding a Southwest Airlines flight pic.twitter.com/Epit1PGV62

— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) November 16, 2024

In its statement, the Dallas-based airline said the preliminary reports in the incident stated that one of the passengers onboard suffered a minor injury during the evacuation process. The person, whose phone caught fire, was being treated for the burns.

Acting swiftly on the matter, the crew members extinguished the seat fire.

Due to the inconvenience caused to the passengers, the airline said they worked to accommodate them on another flight so that they could reach their destination on time.

"Southwest's customer care team is working to accommodate the passengers on another aircraft to their original destination of Houston... Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees," an airline spokesperson said.

The airline said the reason behind the incident currently "remains under investigation."

On the other hand, the Federal Aviation Administration added it was looking into the matter and would investigate how the smartphone caught fire.

Due to the incident, the flight got delayed for three hours before reaching its destination at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, data from FlightAware showed.

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No Communication From Gambhir? India Star Breaks Silence On Australia Snub

With the highly anticipated five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia set to commence on November 22 at Perth, Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur has expressed confidence in Virat Kohli's ability to deliver in the series despite recent struggles. Both Kohli and Rohit Sharma have faced scrutiny for their inconsistent form during the New Zealand tour, managing a combined 184 runs across six innings. As fans and experts debate their place in the Test side, Thakur believes Kohli's stellar record and experience in Australia will prove invaluable.

Thakur shed light on the immense pressure that Kohli faces, emphasising the high expectations surrounding the star batter. "With playing, criticism will always come. When Virat bats, we tend to expect him to score a century every time. So, even if he scores 70 runs, it feels like he has failed, but the reality is, he has still scored 70 runs. He has made so many centuries; after Sachin Tendulkar, he is the one with the most centuries in the world," Thakur told IANS after finishing the third day's play in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Services at the Air Force ground at Palam here on Friday.

Thakur further highlighted Kohli's outstanding performances in Australia over the years, where the former Indian captain has accumulated over 600 runs in 13 Tests at an average exceeding 50.

“Everyone knows, deep down, how well Virat plays in Australia. He has everything — whether it's technique or the right approach — to succeed on the Australian tour. He has proven it time and again whenever he has toured Australia, and I am confident he will do it again this time. He will be back don't worry,” Thakur asserted confidently.

Thakur himself has been on a determined journey of recovery and improvement. Returning from surgery, Shardul delivered a match-winning performance in Mumbai's Elite Group A clash against Services. He picked up a total of seven wickets across both innings, with standout figures of 12-0-39-3 in the third day's play. His early strikes had Services reeling at 60/3 by lunch, and Mumbai closed in on a potential outright victory, bolstered by Thakur's efforts.

Reflecting on his comeback, Thakur admitted to initial hesitation after his surgery. "In the initial one or two matches, I had a bit of hesitation while starting, but as I kept playing matches post-surgery, my confidence gradually developed. Now, I have achieved 100% fitness, and it's reflected in my bowling as well. In the past three or four matches, I have been bowling in full rhythm.

"Although quite a few catches were dropped, so the wickets aren't reflecting on the board. If those catches were taken, I would have had around 20 wickets in five matches. But that's part and parcel of the game. Overall, I'm feeling quite good in terms of fitness and bowling. It's a satisfying feeling, I would say," said Thakur.

Despite his impressive domestic performance, Thakur was overlooked for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad. However, he remains optimistic about future opportunities, particularly with a packed schedule that includes Australia's tour, England's white-ball matches in India, and the Champions Trophy.

"I haven't had any communication yet. But right now, I have just returned from surgery, so it's obvious that's the reason I am not on the team at the moment. However, my fitness is in great shape now, and since the Australia tour is a long one, opportunities can come anytime.

"Following that, the England team is also coming to India for white-ball matches, then there's the Champions Trophy, so there's a lot of cricket ahead. So, there will surely be chances somewhere down the line. My only focus at the moment is to further improve my fitness, work harder on my bowling, and always give 100% when I step onto the ground," said Thakur.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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US Man Who Went On Crime Spree With Mother 'Dragon Lady' Speaks Out

Notorious criminal Sante Kimes' son Kenneth, now 49, has opened up about his tumultuous childhood and years as an accomplice to his mother's crimes. "If I could only have an hour with my younger self, I would say, 'buddy … you have to file for emancipation from your parents,'" Kimes told CNN from prison. "You have to save yourself."

Kimes and his mother, infamously known as the Dragon Lady, were convicted of killing New York socialite Irene Silverman in 1998. 

The pair's crimes stretched beyond New York. At the time of Ms Silverman's disappearance, they were wanted for arson, insurance fraud, and a shooting in California, along with a suspected murder in the Bahamas. Their arrests revealed an even darker past. They were linked to a series of crimes involving kidnapping and enslaving domestic workers, including a notorious case in the mid-1980s where Sante Kimes was sentenced to prison for running a human trafficking operation across several states.

Read | How A Brooklyn Neighbourhood Gave Rise To The Dreaded New York Mafia

When the police arrested them in New York, they discovered incriminating evidence in their car, including weapons, wigs, and personal items belonging to Ms Silverman, including a forged deed to her property. Despite this, the Kimes denied any involvement in Ms Silverman's disappearance.

Sante Kimes called their arrest a "witch hunt" and denied all charges, claiming they were victims of mistaken identity.

In 2000, a jury convicted the Kimes of Ms Silverman's murder, sentencing them to 120 years to life in prison. However, four years later, Kenneth Kimes made a stunning revelation. He confessed to killing the elderly socialite, implicating his mother in the crime in exchange for a plea deal. "I want to make it clear that I did not confess because I wanted to rat my mom out. I confessed because I was afraid of the death penalty for me or her," Kimes said.

Read | US Man Stabs Girlfriend To Death Because He Didn't Like Her New Haircut

Kimes described how he tackled Ms Silverman in her bedroom while his mother turned on the television to mask the noise. He then strangled her, stuffed her body in a car, and dumped it at a construction site in northern New Jersey. Her body was never found. The last time he saw his mother was during his confession in 2004. “When I started confessing, she started crying,” Kimes recalled.

His mother died in 2014 while serving her prison sentence.

Kimes described his childhood as marked by lies, uncertainty, and FBI raids. His mother's 1985 prison sentence for kidnapping and enslaving maids was a significant moment. "It had a huge, damaging effect on my perspective," he said. He also recalled his mother's charisma and manipulative nature, saying, "My mom could make every man in the room feel like the most important person in the planet."  

Read | US Woman Arrested For Chopping Mother Into Pieces And Cooking Body Parts

Kimes also remembered a brief period of stability with his father after his mother was imprisoned in the 1980s. "It was the most stable period of my young life," he said. However, when his father died suddenly, his mother manipulated him, hiding the news of his death for months.

Now serving time in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, Kimes has spent years reflecting on his past and the consequences of his upbringing. He often thinks about the lack of intervention during his childhood, and what might have happened if someone had taken him away from his parents. “Maybe I wouldn't have been a high-profile murderer,” he said. “My whole life and criminality is a study on the outcome of lack of prevention. There are many kids like me who are on the road to destruction.”

Kimes has turned to religion and believes he will meet his late partner in heaven. He also regretted his actions and offered an apology to the families of his victims: "To anyone I've harmed, I know it's worthless, but I'm sorry.”

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"We Ran Out Of Missiles": US Fighter Pilots Recall Iran's Attack On Israel

The F-15 fighter pilots from the US have recounted how they ran out of air-to-air missiles and switched to guns during the massive Iranian attack on Israel. In April this year, Iran fired more than 300 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles on Israel, a far larger strike than the US military anticipated.

Major Benjamin “Irish” Coffey, an F-15 fighter pilot, has recalled how he was not expecting to run out of missiles while taking on the Iranian attack.

While they were instructed to use every weapon at their disposal to help Israel, Major Coffey and his crew-mate, weapons systems officer Captain Lacie “Sonic” Hester soon came up with a plan when they ran out of air-to-air missiles.

They recalled how they flew as close as they could to an Iranian drone — way below the minimum safe altitude for the F-15 Strike Eagle — and used a gun against a target that was barely visible. This was an extremely dangerous maneuver for the pilots in total darkness. However, they still ended up missing the target.

“You feel the terrain rush, you feel yourself getting closer and closer to the ground. The risk was just too high to try again," Major Coffey told CNN.

In the end, the US forces, both in the air as well as at sea, were able to intercept 70 drones and three ballistic missiles during the attack, which was largely thwarted.

This was the US Air Force's maiden “real test” against a prolonged and large-scale drone attack as the fighters spent multiple hours in the air that night.

The situation was equally chaotic at the undisclosed US military base in the Middle East as the air defenses there had shot down Iranian missiles and drones overhead, while troops were rushed to bunkers.

The attack by Iran was in retaliation for Israel's attack on the Iranian consulate building in Syria, leaving several members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dead.

Captain Hester said that when they were getting briefed that night, they "had no idea” about what could have happened.

Sharing his thoughts, F-15 pilot Lieutenant Colonel Timothy “Diesel” Causey added that they did not have much time before then to practice. He went on to call the attack drones a "low cost, low risk for the enemy to employ."

The weapons of the fighter jets were depleted quickly as the F-15E Strike Eagle is able to carry only eight air-to-air missiles at a time. “We ran out of missiles pretty quickly…20 minutes maybe," said F-15 pilot Lieutenant Colonel Curtis “Voodoo” Culver.

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