Stacy Jo Dixon
Research expert covering social media usage worldwide
Misinformation on social media - statistics & facts
Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster. What happens to inaccurate news? Social media propels misinformation and can have real-world consequences, especially when elections and incitements of violence are at the center of it. Social media companies are yet to get a grip on misinformation, but there is hope in the form of tech-savvy children, who often go out of their way to fact-check.
Brits aged over 65 years were more likely to say that social media companies should be held responsible for posts inciting criminal behavior on social media, with almost 80 percent of respondents belonging to this age group believing so. One third of those aged under 24 years said that they should not be held responsible. Moreover, 41 percent of respondents who were Reform UK voters in the last general election said that social media companies should not be held responsible, whereas Labour voters were the most likely to hold social media companies accountable for posts that incited violence. Across England and Wales, there were a total of 28 individuals charged with online offenses in relation to the riots as of August 2024.
But recognizing false content is not always easy, with 46 percent of children finding it difficult or very difficult to determine whether a news story on social media was true. Only two percent of respondents found it straightforward to determine the truthfulness of online information.
Some social media companies do better than others at dealing with climate change misinformation. In August 2023, a study found that Pinterest was the most proactive social media site when it came to dealing with this type of misinformation, as the platform has clear rules about how to moderate climate change content and has a strong definition of what climate misinformation is. TikTok also releases reports on the enforcement of its misinformation policies.
Social media misinformation can have significant consequences, and companies are yet to get a grip on this type of harmful content, but there is hope in the form of some tech-savvy users who often go out of their way to fact-check.
In social media we trust
Americans are using social media as a source of news, with 38 percent of adults in the United States using social media for information about the 2024 presidential election. A December 2023 survey found that Republicans placed the least amount of trust in social media to report election information. Overall, 52 percent of Democrats said that they trusted social media a fair amount when it came to trusting social media to accurately report political news. Social media users aged between 18 and 29 years were the most likely age group to trust social media in this respect, with distrust decreasing with age.A summer of unrest
The end of July through to the beginning of August saw far-right, anti-immigration riots across the United Kingdom, with many of these riots being organized via social media platforms, and many social media users in the United Kingdom hold social media companies accountable for the mishandling of the misinformation that circulated on online platforms. As of August 2024, 46 percent of UK respondents thought that social media networks did a bad job at handling misinformation during the riots. Just one percent stated that a very good job was carried out.Brits aged over 65 years were more likely to say that social media companies should be held responsible for posts inciting criminal behavior on social media, with almost 80 percent of respondents belonging to this age group believing so. One third of those aged under 24 years said that they should not be held responsible. Moreover, 41 percent of respondents who were Reform UK voters in the last general election said that social media companies should not be held responsible, whereas Labour voters were the most likely to hold social media companies accountable for posts that incited violence. Across England and Wales, there were a total of 28 individuals charged with online offenses in relation to the riots as of August 2024.
Fact-checking is child’s play
Tech-savvy children and teenagers can find their way around online platforms in such a way that they can conduct their own fact checking when they come across content that does not seem accurate. A March 2023 survey conducted in the UK found that half of teens aged 12 to 15 years said that to fact-check news on social media sites or apps, they would look at the comments or find out what people had said about the story. Furthermore, fifteen-year-olds were more likely to check if the same story appeared elsewhere to verify it.But recognizing false content is not always easy, with 46 percent of children finding it difficult or very difficult to determine whether a news story on social media was true. Only two percent of respondents found it straightforward to determine the truthfulness of online information.
The online climate
Over the years, climate change denial claims have changed, and in 2018, the most common climate misinformation claim on YouTube was that global warming was not happening. In 2023, most claims questioned the reliability of climate science and the movement itself.Some social media companies do better than others at dealing with climate change misinformation. In August 2023, a study found that Pinterest was the most proactive social media site when it came to dealing with this type of misinformation, as the platform has clear rules about how to moderate climate change content and has a strong definition of what climate misinformation is. TikTok also releases reports on the enforcement of its misinformation policies.
Social media misinformation can have significant consequences, and companies are yet to get a grip on this type of harmful content, but there is hope in the form of some tech-savvy users who often go out of their way to fact-check.
