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.
Highlights
According to the Trust in News study [1], 46% of news audiences believe that fake news influenced the outcome of recent elections
Despite the relevance and interest of these observations, disinformation has not been commonly studied in academia from the perspective of citizens and consumers
Regarding the media used as a source of information, it can be observed that interpersonal communication is the most used (M = 3.94; SD = 1.301), followed by social media (M = 3.67; SD = 1.387)
Summary
According to the Trust in News study [1], 46% of news audiences believe that fake news influenced the outcome of recent elections. An Ipsos study [3] further showed that 57% of Spaniards admitted to believing fake news. Despite the relevance and interest of these observations, disinformation has not been commonly studied in academia from the perspective of citizens and consumers. The few authors who have studied this topic include Tandoc, Lim, and Ling [4]. These authors considered the citizen’s role to be key, as citizens are the consumers of fake news and hoaxes. The aim of the present study was to fill existing knowledge gaps on the perceptions of citizens regarding this problem. This study did not analyze the factors influencing the diffusion or credibility of fake content, as this subject has been explored in the past [5,6,7]
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