Caitlin Moran named most popular journalist on Twitter

A new study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism reveals the power and influence that newsbrands and journalists have on Twitter.

According to the research, which is based on a sample size of almost 19,000 adults across 10 countries, 64% of all Twitter users follow a newsbrand.

Of those users, the largest proportion follow a journalist (48%), while 40% follow a breaking news account and 28% follow a general newsbrand.

Led by the likes of Caitlin Moran (499,000 twitter followers), Jon Snow (418,000), Grace Dent (206,000) and Guido Fawkes (128,000), between them the top UK journalists rack up millions of followers on Twitter and are undoubtedly a highly influential group when it comes to news.

44% of UK survey respondents said that journalists play an important part when it comes to trusting a news source. This compares to 63% of UK respondents who said the same for a brand.

Contrastingly, in Spain, journalists are considered more important for trusting news than the brand itself (60% and 55%, respectively).

Nic Newman, author of the report and associate at Reuters, said: “News is becoming more mobile, more social and more digital, but newsbrands and their journalists remain a trusted source of information and a key driver of conversation.”