Pew: Yahoo And Google Rank High On List Of Online Political News Sources

Of the 24 percent of Americans who get most of their political news from the Internet, 20 percent cite Yahoo.com as their main source of news, and Google comes in next at 13 percent. Only CNN.com, at 22 percent, came in higher than the two search-centric destinations in the latest study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

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The survey, which was conducted in November 2010 and included 2,257 adults, found that fully 54 percent of American adults — 73% of adult Internet users — went online last year for news or information about the midterm elections, or to communicate about the campaigns.

The study found that one-third (35%) of online adults looked up information about candidates’ voting records or positions about issues in the months leading up to the mid-term elections. Searching for this type of information online was especially prevalent among whites, college graduates and those with household incomes over $75,000.

Search also played a role when 28 percent of online adults researched or “fact checked” claims made during the campaign — likely in ads on campaign speeches. A similar type of demographic group — white, college graduates, and those with higher incomes — engaged in this activity, the study found.

Voters — for either party — were more likely to engage in the above-mentioned activities than non-voters, and Republicans were more likely than Democrats.

Image courtesy Pew