Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy

A 37-nation survey of 42,151 adults conducted Feb. 8-May 13, 2026 (with two supplemental U.S. surveys totaling 3,507 and 5,511 respondents) finds growing global concern that social media harms democracy. In countries with trend data, the share saying social media is a “bad thing” for their democracy has risen substantially since 2022 or 2023. The United States remains one of the most negative countries (64% say social media harms democracy), and other wealthy democracies are “catching up” with rising skepticism even where attitudes were previously more positive. Despite these increases, the median across the 37 nations still registers 55% saying social media has been positive for democracy and 35% saying it has been negative.

Negative assessments concentrate in higher-income countries: half or more in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. now view social media as harmful, while Israel and Singapore are notable exceptions among wealthy nations. Country-level shifts are large in places such as Germany (bad rose from 41% in 2022 to 61% in 2026), Japan (23% to 43%), and the Netherlands (54% to 70%). By contrast, many lower‑GDP countries - including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and Thailand - report strong majorities saying social media has been good for democracy.