{
  "kind": "fact",
  "studySlug": "citation-sources",
  "slug": "social-sources-are-material-not-noise",
  "title": "Social sources are material, not noise",
  "description": "YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn keep appearing in the citation layer.",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-04-17",
  "lastTested": "2026-04-17",
  "sourceStudyUrl": "/trakkr-research/citation-sources",
  "sourceStudyTitle": "Where AI Gets Its Answers",
  "claimIds": [
    "citation-sources:social-share",
    "citation-sources:total-citations"
  ],
  "relatedSlugs": [
    "answer:does-social-content-matter-for-ai-citations",
    "answer:do-review-sites-still-matter-to-ai-models",
    "tracker:top-cited-domain-tracker"
  ],
  "methodologySummary": "Built from the live citation index backing Trakkr Research, using 8,777,687 citations across 208,567 unique domains observed between October 3, 2025 and April 17, 2026.",
  "limitations": [
    "The live citation index is broader than the original December 2025 launch study, so percentages here should be read as the current benchmark.",
    "Domain share does not mean causal influence. It measures what models cited, not the full retrieval set.",
    "Category totals are domain-level rollups and may hide differences by model or query intent."
  ],
  "keywords": [
    "AI citations",
    "citation sources",
    "AI source preferences",
    "domain authority in AI"
  ],
  "schemaHints": {
    "pageType": "Article",
    "includeDataset": true
  },
  "claim": "Social sources account for 3.82% of current AI citations.",
  "supportingMetrics": [
    {
      "label": "Social category share",
      "value": "3.82%",
      "detail": "Social sources matter materially, led by YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn."
    },
    {
      "label": "Citations analyzed",
      "value": "8.78M",
      "detail": "Current live citation index as of April 17, 2026."
    }
  ],
  "whyItMatters": "Community and creator content still influences model answers, especially for advice and comparison queries.",
  "citationBlock": {
    "quote": "Social sources account for 3.82% of current AI citations.",
    "attribution": "Where AI Gets Its Answers - Trakkr Research",
    "url": "https://trakkr.ai/trakkr-research/citation-sources/facts/social-sources-are-material-not-noise"
  }
}