Washington: Eight per cent of Americans use Twitter as a key source of news as opposed to 30 per cent of people who get their news on Facebook, according to a new survey.

Nearly one-in-ten US adults get news through Twitter, a report by the Pew Research Center said.

Compared with the 30 per cent of Americans who get news on Facebook, Twitter news consumers stand out as younger, more mobile and more educated.

Twitter posts were analysed for the information shared, sentiments expressed and ebb and flow of interest.

According to the survey, 16 per cent of US adults use Twitter. Among those, roughly half (52 per cent) "ever" get news there - with news defined as "information about events and issues that involve more than just your friends or family."

Mobile devices are a key point of access for these Twitter news consumers. The vast majority, 85 per cent, get news (of any kind) at least sometimes on mobile devices.

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