If Reuters’ TikTok channel felt a lot louder this spring, you’re not imagining things. In Q2 2025, the famed newswire’s short-form video success erupted. Total engagement (likes, shares, and comments) skyrocketed more than 5x compared to Q1, fueled by a dramatic increase in posting cadence and one headline-grabbing viral video.
Posting Doubled, Attention Multiplied
The most immediate change? Volume. Reuters published 689 videos in Q2 — more than double the 328 it released in Q1. That’s nearly 8 posts a day, a noticeable acceleration in pace.
This shift wasn’t just about flooding the feed, of course. The newsroom put out plenty of content focused on fast-moving, high-interest stories: political protests, global flashpoints, and social unrest, as well as the conclave to select the new Pope. These themes dominated the most popular posts, proving that when it comes to news on TikTok, timing and topicality are everything.
One Post, Ten Million Interactions
Among hundreds of clips, one post towered above all others: a video of Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, being arrested during a Gaza protest, which accumulated 10 million interactions and over 93 million plays. That video alone accounted for more than half of Reuters’ total engagement on TikTok in Q2.
That’s worth repeating: 1 post out of 689 delivered 53% of the quarter’s interactions.
@reuters Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, was arrested and dragged out of a Senate hearing by U.S. capitol police after protesting the war in Gaza during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s testimony. "You're killing poor kids in Gaza and paying for it by cutting Medicaid for kids here," shouted Cohen, who had attended a pro-Palestine event earlier in the day, referring to Medicaid cuts proposed in the Republican spending bill and U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza. #benandjerrys #bencohen #protest #gaza #rfkjr #senate #arrest ♬ original sound - Reuters
This kind of power-law performance isn’t unusual in the attention economy, but it underscores a crucial point; that viral success hinges on sharp editorial judgment and the ability to rapidly produce compelling video around unpredictable, high-impact moments.
What This Tells Us About TikTok News Strategy
Reuters’ Q2 TikTok success offers two clear lessons for media publishers:
- Quantity feeds discovery. Doubling down on daily output creates more opportunities to ride breaking news waves and hit algorithmic jackpots.
- Quality still wins. One perfectly timed, emotionally charged, visually compelling story can eclipse hundreds of others. Being ready to seize that moment is everything.
What’s Next?
Reuters’ Q2 playbook shows the power of high-frequency posting paired with decisive editorial focus, and it’s something others should be looking to replicate to the best of their ability and resources.
For more on how publishers drove success, head over to our report.
