As social media becomes increasingly more widespread, people have begun gaining their information from non-traditional sources, namely, podcasts.
According to CivicScience, “Podcasts are enjoying a boom in their own right,” with more and more young people listening to podcasts of all kinds.
“Data shows three-quarters of Gen Z adults now listen to podcasts to some extent, up from 70% in 2024,” CivicScience said.
On top of this, Pew Research Center claims that “around a third of U.S. adults (32%) say they get news from podcasts,” meaning that these sources are considered credible, despite being largely based on opinion.
Although painted as just another form of entertainment, podcasts can be harmful through the exploitation of controversy and the spread of misinformation, especially when popularized and accepted by such a large number of young adults.
The predominant goal of most social media is to increase viewership through all means necessary.
This is often done in the podcasting industry through viral clips of “hot takes” or controversial opinions and ideas.
When heavier topics are discussed, such as gender roles, religion, politics and ethics, media such as podcasts are interacted with more through likes, shares and comments, increasing the revenue they pull in.
Due to this, podcasters will often intentionally create controversy in an attempt to increase viewership and interaction, even if doing so through misinformation.
In a Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media article by Muhammad Rasul, a study revealed that “over 70% of podcasters shared false political beliefs.”
This spread of misinformation is extremely concerning due to the number of people who trust these podcasters to be reliable news sources, when in reality, these sources don’t maintain ethical journalism in the slightest.
Misinformation not only can impact viewers through the spread of false facts and ideals but can also cause emotional distress and even trap viewers in echo chambers.
According to psychiatrist Lisa MacLean of Henry Ford Health, echo chambers occur when media repetitively or exclusively expose individuals to “information that reinforces existing beliefs,” meaning that they are only seeing the same perspective on an issue.
“Echo chambers can create misinformation and distort our perspectives, making it difficult to consider opposing viewpoints and discuss complicated topics,” Maclean said. “Echo chambers can lead to narrow-minded thinking; they may also increase social and political polarization and extremism.”
This is a common occurrence with podcasts because, just like any other form of social media, they rely heavily on maintaining engagement through building a preferable yet entertaining algorithm.
“Social media algorithms ensure we only see media that fits our preferences, we find ourselves scrolling through comfortable, self-confirming feeds,” Maclean said.
The more podcasts individuals are consuming or relying on for news, the more likely they are to not only find misleading and false information, but also the more likely they are to be deprived of opposing views, increasing overall polarization and conflict over controversial topics.