Jordan Peterson on media: what the evidence says · JRE #1769
SUBJECT: MEDIA
The short answer
Peterson claims that 70% of YouTube's audience is male, citing this as an explanation for his own audience skew. Pew Research Center, which has tracked U.S. social media platform usage by demographic group since 2012, reports that YouTube usage is nearly even by gender: in its most recent survey wave (fielded February to June 2025), 86% of U.S. men and 83% of U.S. women say they use YouTube, a roughly even split rather than a 70/30 skew.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
then I looked at the YouTube stats, and 70% of people who listened to YouTube were males
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Peterson claimed that YouTube statistics showed 70% of the platform's listeners/viewers were male. Pew Research Center, which has tracked U.S. social media platform usage by demographic group since 2012, reports that YouTube usage is nearly even by gender: in its most recent survey wave (fielded February to June 2025), 86% of U.S. men and 83% of U.S. women say they use YouTube, a roughly even split rather than a 70/30 skew. No widely cited industry or research source has reported a 70% male audience share for YouTube overall; global platform figures compiled from sources like Statista have similarly shown gender splits closer to 55/45 in most years. Peterson's own audience may skew disproportionately male, but the premise that this reflects YouTube's overall user base being 70% male is not supported by available demographic data. The claim is assessed as false based on the best available evidence.