Overall, just over half of respondents (51%) use learn about some form of group, whether open or closed, to share information . These are environments where it’s harder to spot fake news, for example, and where misinformation spreads more quickly.
The role of social media as a channel for disinformation
Meanwhile, Instagram, followed by Snapchat, has become the primary source telegram data of information for Generation Z (18-24 year olds). Influencers and celebrities have played a prominent role here , whether commenting on information or recommending health issues (recall that in August, Fernando Simón, director of the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center in Spain, called on influencers to help raise awareness young people learn about coronavirus on instagram among young people about the dangers of the pandemic, appealing to their dissemination capabilities).
It’s significant here which social network young people prefer for information, which has obviously depended on the level of penetration of each platform in each country. Thus, while in Spain 28% of young people say they get their information from europe email Instagram, and only 1% prefer Snapchat or TikTok , in the United States, although Instagram remains the leader with 26% preference, Snapchat captures 14% of attention, and TikTok 11%.
In any case, these are social networks where
Content formats don’t make it easy to elaborate on the information, often reducing it to videos of just a few seconds or a single image. These formats, therefore, tend to provide biased and decontextualized information, lacking the ability to go into depth, and therefore easier to manipulate.
Misinformation is a cause for widespread concern across the 40 countries studied: on average, 56% of respondents say they are concerned about difficulty distinguishing false information.
Now, who generates this fake news? The report shows that national politicians are perceived as the main perpetrators (40%), followed by activists (14%), journalists (13%), individuals themselves (13%), and foreign governments (10%).