Citizen Perceptions of Fake News in Spain: Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Ideological Differences

Abstract

Although the phenomenon of disinformation and, specifically, fake news has become especially serious and problematic, this phenomenon has not been widely addressed in academia from the perspective of consumers, who play a relevant role in the spread of this content. For that reason, the present study focuses on determining how this phenomenon is perceived by citizens, as the strategies to counteract fake news are affected by such opinions. Thus, the main objective of this study was to identify in which media the perception and experience of fake news is greatest and thus determine what platforms should be focused on to counteract this phenomenon. A survey was conducted in October 2020, among the Spanish adult population and was completed by a total of 423 people (with 421 valid answers). Among its main findings, this study determined that social media platforms are the type of media in which the greatest amount of fake news is perceived, which confirms the suggestions of previous studies. Furthermore, the experienced presence of fake news seems to be primarily affected by age and gender, as there was a higher level of skepticism observed among young people and women. Additionally, the use of media seems to be positively correlated with the perceived and experienced presence of fake news.

Disinformation Perception by Digital and Social Audiences: Threat Awareness, Decision-Making and Trust in Media Organizations

“…In general terms, research indicates that the audience perceives social networks as the channel that conveys a higher level of disinformation, although traditional media (digital media, print media, radio and television) are also described as disinforming channels. According to Blanco-Herrero, Amores and Sánchez-Holgado [27], television and the digital press-in that order-were perceived as more disinforming than radio and print media (also in that order), although the highest percentage was held by social networks. Young people expressed a greater distrust towards television, while older individuals were more concerned about fake news and disinformation channeled through social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Telegram [27].…”

“…The authors suggest that disinformed people who believe fake news is true can contribute to the propagation of misleading information, which is the consequence of a wrong perception of the level of disinformation experienced by some individuals. Another relevant study is the one developed by Blanco-Herrero, Amores and Sánchez-Holgado [27] on the way disinformation is perceived by individuals depending on variables such as age, gender, education or social class, among others. The results show a lack of correlation between the disinformation perceived and experienced by some audience segments, like older individuals, whose perception of disinformation is higher and more negative than the one perceived by young people, or women, who proved to be more skeptical towards disinformation than men.…”

IBERIFIER Reports: Analysis of the Impact of Disinformation on Political, Economic, Social and Security Issues, Governance Models and Good Practices: The cases of Spain and Portugal

“…For instance, even if people report an increase in disinformation exposure [59], the latter cannot explain a political shift in an election [60]. Even if there is evidence, it is still challenging to have a causal link.…”

SARA Hoax: Phenomena, Meaning, and Conflict Management

“…SARA hoaxes that appear in the daily activities of informants are transmitted through Blogs, WOM, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and WhatsApp Groups. Most fake news is received through social media platforms (Blanco-Herrero et al, 2021). A study states that about 24% of the information shared via Twitter is fake events (Velichety & Shrivastava, 2022).…”