Maltese among Europe’s most active news seekers on social media

In Malta, 74% of people say they get news about social and political issues from social media. That’s the second-highest rate in the European Union (EU), just behind Cyprus at 76%.

This information emerged from the latest Eurobarometer survey on social media use in the EU. Social media platforms are the main source of such information for Maltese users, putting the country alongside Cyprus (76%), Greece (56%), Latvia (56%), and Hungary (55%) as the top five EU members relying most on online networks for news.

By contrast, only 48% of Maltese respondents said television is their main source of news, compared with 71% across the EU. Reliance on printed newspapers or their online versions is also slightly lower in Malta, at 38% versus 41% for the EU as a whole.

Among those using social media for current affairs, Facebook stands out as the dominant platform, with 87% of Maltese respondents citing it as their preferred source—the highest share in Europe. This is well above the EU average, where Facebook and YouTube are each mentioned by around six in ten respondents.

By contrast, only one in three Maltese (33%) turn to YouTube for political or social information, while just 20% mention TikTok—one of the lowest rates in the EU. Telegram use is also minimal, with only 4% citing it as a source of current affairs information.

Scrolling into the news

Maltese social media users are also among the most likely in Europe to come across political and social news by chance. An overwhelming 93% said they sometimes read such information while browsing, even when they were not actively searching for it—a proportion matched only by Cyprus.

Despite this high exposure to information, Maltese respondents were the least likely in Europe (24%) to say that television had become more important to them as a source of news over the past year, suggesting a strong shift toward online and mobile consumption.

When it comes to content format, half of Maltese respondents (50%) prefer short text-based posts—images with brief captions or status updates—while 48% opt for short videos of less than one minute. These preferences align with broader European trends but show a clear appetite for quick, visually engaging content.

High exposure to disinformation

The survey also highlights growing concerns about disinformation. 45% of Maltese respondents said they had been “often” or “very often” exposed to fake news in the past week—one of the highest shares in the EU and a 17-point increase since 2022.

This puts Malta alongside countries like Spain (52%), Romania (55%), and Hungary (57%), all of which report rising encounters with misleading or false content online.

When asked about how they verify information, half of Maltese respondents (50%) said they check the comments under posts to see what others are saying—a strategy that reflects both curiosity and reliance on peer perspectives rather than traditional journalistic verification.

The rise of influencers

Malta also tops the EU in following influencers or content creators online. Just over half of respondents (51%) said they follow such figures—the highest share in Europe, narrowly ahead of Cyprus (50%).

Among Maltese followers, half (50%) said they do so for product reviews, but political and motivational content also plays a significant role, each cited by 37%. Another 36% said they follow influencers to get a glimpse into their daily life or for tutorials.

This trend underlines how social media personalities are shaping how Maltese audiences engage with both consumer culture and public debate.

The Eurobarometer survey on media and news habits was conducted in June 2025 by Ipsos through computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI), using online panels across the EU. In Malta, 500 interviews were carried out, with a margin of error of ±4.4 percentage points. In total, the EU-wide survey included 26,121 interviews.