MEDIA CONSUMPTION

Social media overtakes television as main source of news for Kenyans

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2026

Media Council of Kenya’s latest survey highlights significant change that has implications for regulation, ethics and misinformation.

Social media has overtaken television as Kenyans’ primary news source, with 39% of respondents citing it as their main platform, according to the Media Council of Kenya ‘State of Media 2025 Survey’.”

 

Television followed at 31%, radio at 19% and other sources made up the remainder. Overall, 74% of Kenyans now use social or digital media platforms for news.

 

The findings highlight a fundamental shift towards digital platforms. When asked which medium they had used in the past week, social media (27%) edged ahead of television (25%), with radio at 19%. 

Social media overtakes television as main source of news for kenyans

Photo: Gustavo Fring from Pexels

Print media continues to decline

 

Print media continued its steep decline, with weekly newspaper readership falling from 20% in 2024 to 13% in 2025 – its lowest level yet, down from 26% in 2023.

 

Despite the overall decline in print readership to 13%, specific publications continue to lead the remaining market share. The Daily Nation tops the rankings with 49%, followed by The Standard at 18%, Taifa Leo at 9%, People Daily at 7%, The Star, Citizen Weekly and Business Daily at 4% each, The Nairobian at 3% and MyGov at 2%. This readership is increasingly niche, with a significant portion of people accessing content via digital e-papers rather than physical copies.

 

Television and websites

 

Daily television viewership dropped from 63% in 2024 to 57% in 2025, although prime-time slots between 7pm and 10pm remain popular. Citizen TV retained its position as the most-watched station (56% of respondents), while Radio Citizen led radio listenership with a 17% audience share.

 

Among the 45% of Kenyans who actively visit news websites, Tuko.co.ke leads (30% daily reach; 33% primary), followed by Citizen Digital (25%; 20%), Standardmedia.co.ke (21%; 14%) and Nation.Africa (13%; 10%). 

 

More than half of Kenyans (55%) do not visit any news websites regularly, underscoring that social media platforms, not direct web traffic, now serve as the primary gateway to news.

 

Social and digital media

 

Mobile phones remain the dominant device for accessing social media (91%). WhatsApp (19.8%) and Facebook (18.2%) are still the most popular platforms, followed by rapidly growing TikTok (14.9%) and YouTube (12.3%). More than half of Kenyans do not regularly visit news websites, underscoring how social platforms have become the primary gateway to news.

 

“These results confirm what we have long anticipated. Kenya’s media ecosystem has crossed a historic threshold. Social media is now the primary arena for public discourse, with significant implications for regulation, ethics and misinformation,” comments Media Council of Kenya CEO, David Omwoyo.

 

“The decline in print readership, the shift from traditional platforms, and the difficulty in identifying AI-generated content all demand urgent attention. We call on all media stakeholders to respond with transparency and accountability.”

 

You can access the full report here.



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