2026
By Elena Valverde Arcos
Does the news actually find you, or is it just an illusion? As nearly half of young Spaniards rely on social media for news (European Parliament, 2025), many develop a “News-Finds-Me” perception—the belief that one’s social and digital presence will keep them informed without active seeking (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2017). Focusing on Spanish adults aged 18–29, this study explores an “illusion of exposure” by comparing what users report consuming in a survey with what they actually consume in donated TikTok Viewing Histories. Because TikTok’s algorithm rarely prioritizes news (Hagar & Diakopoulos, 2025), this research audits news videos for factual building blocks—the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How Graber’s (1994). Ultimately, it reveals whether passive consumption creates a truly informed public or just the feeling of one.