Most Kenyans now get their news from social media - MCK report
According to MCK, 37 per cent of respondents rely on social media for news updates. Television follows at 32 per cent, while 26 per cent of Kenyans turn to radio.
Social media has become the leading source of news for most Kenyans, marking a significant shift in media consumption habits, the 2024 State of the Media Report released by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has revealed.
The survey was conducted between May 6 and 13, 2025, using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) methods.
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It involved 3,714 respondents across all 47 counties, grouped into eight regions: Nairobi, Coast, North Eastern, Central, Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza and Eastern.
The target population was Kenyans aged 15 years and above, with a margin of error of ±1.5% and a 100% response rate.
According to MCK, 37 per cent of respondents rely on social media for news updates. Television follows at 32 per cent, while 26 per cent of Kenyans turn to radio.
Newspapers and online news websites are far less popular, with only 1 per cent and 2 per cent of respondents citing them as their primary news sources, respectively. The report adds that 3 per cent of the respondents rely on friends and family for news.
On the other hand, television remains the most consumed medium overall, with 26 per cent of respondents using it in the past week.
Social media accounts for 24 per cent of weekly media usage, with radio closely following at 23 per cent.
Eleven per cent of respondents stated that they consume news from friends and family, while 6 per cent use online news websites. Five per cent get their news from newspapers, 4 per cent from bloggers and 1 per cent from magazines.
“Television remains the most consumed medium, with 26 per cent of respondents reporting consuming it in the past week. Social media closely follows at 24 per cent, while radio accounts for 23 per cent of usage,” the report reads.
“These figures represent a decline from the 2023 survey, which indicated that 33 per cent of Kenyans primarily consumed television content.”
The report also adds that the majority of Kenyans spend less than five hours a day watching television, with 34 per cent watching for 1–2 hours, 26 per cent for 3–4 hours, and 24 per cent tuning in for 30 minutes to an hour.
“The majority of the respondents, accounting for 28 per cent, reported listening to the radio for 1–2 hours per day. While 24 per cent of participants indicated they listen to the radio for 3–4 hours,” says the MCK report.
“A further 19 per cent of respondents listen to the radio for 30 minutes to 1 hour each day. Radio remains a significant medium for daily engagement among Kenyans, with most individuals allocating between one and four hours to radio listening in a typical day.”
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