Pew Knight Initiative
The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Knight Foundation is a social investor committed to supporting informed and engaged communities. Learn more >
About this research
This report from the Pew-Knight Initiative focuses on online community and connection today. It looks at who’s part of online communities, where they form, what they’re built around, why people go to them – and why some people leave. It also examines what people think the internet is doing to connection overall.
Why we did this
The Center conducts research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers. We’ve long studied what online connection looks like for Americans. At a time when fewer than half of Americans are highly satisfied with their social life – or with the quality of life in their local community – it’s important to understand the role online communities play, good and bad.
Learn more about Pew Research Center.
How we did this
We surveyed 9,750 U.S. adults from May 26 to June 1, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel. The survey represents the views of the full U.S. adult population.
Here are the survey questions used for this report, the detailed responses and the methodology.
This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/.
Politics can find a way into online communities, whether they are focused on politics or built around other topics from neighborhoods to parenting. But a new Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative finds that politics is not a big driver of conversation in the online communities people visit most. And a majority don’t think politics should be there.
Still, party and ideology can play a role. Liberal Democrats tend to differ from other groups in how they feel about politics in these spaces, and what kinds of communities they’re part of broadly.
Among people who are part of one, about three-in-ten say there’s at least some political discussion in the online community they visit most often. This includes 7% who say it makes up all or most of the discussion.
But most – 71% – say they see little to no political content in their go-to community.
This is part of a broader survey of U.S. adults, conducted May 26-June 1, 2026.
How did we study online communities?
Our questions asked about feeling part of a community online. We wanted to capture a wide range of spaces and experiences that someone might consider as online community. Here’s how we explained the topic further:
By this, we mean people connecting with others online, such as by joining or feeling part of a group or doing things together. This could happen in places like social media, online discussion forums, by emailing or messaging with a group, or in video games online.
Follow-up questions focused on the community people spend the most time in – we call this their most-visited online community.
Many say politics does not belong in these spaces
People commonly say they don’t want to see politics in their go-to communities. In fact, a majority (54%) of those in an online community say political discussion does not belong in the one they visit most often.
A much smaller share – a quarter – says politics does belong there, and 21% aren’t sure.
We’ve seen similar themes in our work on social media. For example, on two of the four platforms we studied in a 2024 survey, majorities of users who keep politics out of their posts said it’s because politics doesn’t belong there.
Some Americans who’ve left an online community say it was due to too much politics (44% of those who’ve left one). Go to “About a Third of Americans Have Left an Online Community” to read more.
Is the political content people see new or more of the same?
People commonly say the online community they visit most has unique value – it’s something they can’t find elsewhere. But political discussion in these communities isn’t always unique to the space it’s in.
More often than not, political content reflects what people are already getting elsewhere. At the same time, it’s most commonly a diversity of viewpoints, rather than just what people agree with.
The political information people see in these spaces is more often familiar than not.
About a quarter of those in online communities say the political information they see in their most-visited community is mostly what they’ve seen elsewhere. Just 5% say it’s mostly new to them. And about a quarter say it’s about equally new and familiar.
People there are also more likely to say they see things they mostly agree with than disagree (19% vs. 6%).
Still, it’s more common to see a roughly equal mix of political content you agree and disagree with. About three-in-ten in online communities say this.
Liberal Democrats stand out for how they experience politics in online communities
When the focus turns to politics in these spaces, liberal Democrats differ from other groups in several ways. (Republicans and Democrats include independents who lean toward each party.)
Among those in online communities:
Liberal Democrats are most likely to say politics belongs in the communities they visit most, at 37%.
A similar share (43%) says it doesn’t – but that view is higher in other partisan and ideological groups.
Liberal Democrats are also more likely to say they see like-minded political posts and things that reflect what they get elsewhere.
For instance, about a third of liberal Democrats say they mostly agree with what they see, far higher than other groups. That said, roughly another quarter of liberal Democrats say they see a mix of political information that they agree and disagree with.
Liberal Democrats more likely to be part of political online communities
Beyond the online communities Americans visit most often, we wanted to understand the broader landscape of what spaces people are part of.
About one-in-ten Americans say they are a part of an online community specifically focused on politics or political issues.
Liberal Democrats are more likely than other ideological groups in either party to say this. But it’s a fairly small share (14%).
Beyond politics, liberal Democrats are also more likely to be a part of an online community overall. For a breakdown, go to the appendix.