FAKE NEWS SPREAD BY 23% OF AMERICANS, STUDY SAYS
More than 1 in 10 said they shared a story knowing it was fake
If you’ve used the Internet, there’s a good chance you’ve passed around fake news. Nearly one-fourth of Americans saying they have shared made-up news, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
Fake stories and information have become real news stories recently as they permeated the recent U.S. presidential election cycle.
Earlier this month, police arrested an armed man who entered a Washington, D.C., business seeking revelations about a made-up online conspiracy about Hillary Clinton.
“We felt it was worth putting some solid data around it ... how the public feels about this and their sense of exposure,” said Amy Mitchell, Pew’s director of journalism research and a co-author of the report.
Nearly one-fourth (23%) of Americans say they have shared a fake news story, according to Pew’s survey of 1,002 U.S. adults, conducted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4. More than one in 10 (14%) said they shared the story knowing it was fake at the time. Even more (16%), said they found out that the story was fake after they shared it.
Overall, about one-third (32%) of Americans say they often see made-up political news stories online on social networks such as Facebook and via search engines.
For a large portion of respondents (63%), fake news creates “great confusion” among the public about current events, the survey finds.
An additional 24% said fake news causes some confusion. “Overall, we find that a substantial portion of Americans say they come across this news frequently and a solid majority feel that it adds significantly to the confusion in our country over the basic facts connected to current events,” Mitchell said.
After the November election, an analysis by Buzzfeed found that fake stories outperformed real news stories during the final three months of the campaign cycle.
The most shared and read Facebook story during that time was a fake report of Pope Francis releasing a statement endorsing then-Republican nominee Donald Trump. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the company plans to crack down on fake news spread through the network.
When asked about who is responsible for the prevalence of fake news and the prevention of its spread, respondents said that social networks, politicians and the public bear an equal burden — each garnering a result of more than 40% of respondents saying they bear great responsibility.
But many Americans also said they can tell when news is fake or not. Nearly four out of 10 (39%) are very confident in their abilities to recognize fake news, while another 45% were somewhat confident.
“We find that a substantial portion of Americans say they come across this news frequently and a solid majority feel that it adds significantly to the confusion in our country.” Amy Mitchell, Pew Research Center