TikTok News Stats 2025: What’s Really Going On With Social Media and News

When you open TikTok, a short-form video platform that now delivers more news to young adults than traditional outlets. Also known as the news feed for Gen Z, it’s no longer just dance challenges and memes—it’s where people check what’s happening in the world before breakfast. In 2025, over 40% of UK adults under 30 say they get their daily news from TikTok, not BBC, The Guardian, or even Twitter. That’s not a fluke. It’s a quiet revolution in how information moves.

The TikTok algorithm, a recommendation system that prioritizes engagement over authority. Also known as the feed that learns you, it doesn’t care if you’re reading The New York Times or a 17-year-old’s summary of the G20 summit. It cares if you watch, pause, or share. That’s why news clips under 60 seconds—clear, emotional, and punchy—are winning. A video explaining the NHS backlog with a quick cut to a nurse’s exhausted face gets more views than a 2,000-word article. And it’s not just UK news. The same pattern shows up in London, Manchester, and Birmingham. People aren’t avoiding news—they’re avoiding long reads, paywalls, and biased headlines. They want speed, honesty, and something that feels real. Meanwhile, news consumption, the way people find, absorb, and react to information. Also known as how we stay informed, has shifted from passive reading to active scrolling. You don’t need to subscribe to anything. You just swipe. And if the video makes you feel something—anger, relief, surprise—you keep watching. That’s why videos about the cost of living crisis, the newest COVID variant, or a local Tube strike blow up faster than press releases.

What’s missing? Depth. Context. Fact-checking. But that’s not the point. TikTok news isn’t trying to replace newspapers. It’s replacing the feeling of being ignored by traditional media. When a nurse in East London films herself explaining why her shift was cut, or a student breaks down the BRICS shift in under a minute, that’s the kind of content that sticks. It’s not perfect. But it’s human. And for millions, that’s enough.

Below, you’ll find real posts that show exactly how this shift is playing out—how TikTok is changing the way Londoners understand politics, health, and daily life. No fluff. Just what people are watching, sharing, and believing right now.