From Pew Research: Few Americans pay for news when they encounter paywalls

[TheProle]

The dismal failure of digital media monetization...

So basically people just walk away from paywalls, get the "same" info from other "outlets" or just check out over lack of interest.

Meanwhile, "influencers" cherry-pick from real journalism, slap a click-baity headline on it and use it to shape half-baked partisan narratives to make that sweet, sweet lucre from views and flood the internet with slop.

Few Americans pay for news when they encounter paywalls

The survey also asked anyone who said they ever come across paywalls what they typically do first when that happens.

Just 1% say they pay for access when they come across an article that requires payment.

The most common reaction is that people seek the information somewhere else (53%). About a third (32%) say they typically give up on accessing the information.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/24/few-americans-pay-for-news-when-they-encounter-paywalls/