Justin, you write, "Facebook was a source of political news to roughly as many people as local TV was." Pew reported, "Panelists were asked whether they got news from each of the 36 sources (plus local television news) over the past week, and while...
Via Jocelyn Stoller, Deanna Dahlsad
And there's more:
"But the data also shows there are differences in social media usage along ideological lines. Those in the middle of Pew’s ideological breakdown got news on Facebook most often — 53 percent of them in the past week, higher than both consistent liberals (49 percent) and consistent conservatives (40 percent). But while those in the middle may get their news there, those on either end of the spectrum are more likely to shape their Facebook experience with politics in mind. They’re more likely to “like” or follow an issue-based group (60% of consistent liberals and 46% of consistent conservatives, versus 33% of those in the middle). They’re also more likely to follow a political party or elected official there (42 percent of consistent liberals and 49 percent of consistent conservatives, versus only 29 percent of Facebook users as a whole)."
And there's more:
"But the data also shows there are differences in social media usage along ideological lines. Those in the middle of Pew’s ideological breakdown got news on Facebook most often — 53 percent of them in the past week, higher than both consistent liberals (49 percent) and consistent conservatives (40 percent). But while those in the middle may get their news there, those on either end of the spectrum are more likely to shape their Facebook experience with politics in mind. They’re more likely to “like” or follow an issue-based group (60% of consistent liberals and 46% of consistent conservatives, versus 33% of those in the middle). They’re also more likely to follow a political party or elected official there (42 percent of consistent liberals and 49 percent of consistent conservatives, versus only 29 percent of Facebook users as a whole)."