Surely at some point you have received news on your mobile phone that, although it may seem surprising, after it went viral, you decided to give it some credibility. The same thing happens on social media when you see it shared millions of times. The emergence of hoaxes, or fake newsmeans that we cannot distinguish real news from made-up news. Except, The increased use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence has further blurred the line separating truth from half-truths or lies..
To know what impact hoaxes or fake news The communication and marketing agency Asesores conducted a study among Spanish society. Some of the interesting data that can be gleaned from the report is that 40% of respondents are unable to recognize a hoax when they see one. On the other hand, 41% feel able to tell the difference.
Social networks are the main platform for disseminating these fake news According to 76% of respondents, this is followed by the media and personal contacts, for example through a family member or friend. Except, 35% of the population confirm that they have received false messages through messaging applications such as WhatsApp..
Hoax on the agenda
Most hoaxes are easy to spot, and when confronted with viral news, we are increasingly on edge trying to counter the information. In fact, 66% of those surveyed say they don’t believe rumors the moment they hear them.
The problem is that fake news continues to grow and become more sophisticated. For 80% of respondents, the number of hoaxes has increased over the past year. And for this reason, 90% are concerned about the negative impact of AI.
As for age categories, the youngest people between the ages of 18 and 35 show the greatest concern about the spread of fake news. Next comes the group from 35 to 49 years old.
Social networks: perfect breeding ground for fake news
The survey carried out by Asesores also shows concerns among a large part of Spanish society about the role of social networks in the dissemination of information. fake news. For example, 8 out of 10 respondents believe that social media is becoming more politicized or less committed to truthfulness. what is common. So much so that 6 out of 10 would consider stopping using the social network for this reason.
X, formerly Twitter, is one of the hardest hit, with 20% of Spaniards no longer using their profile due to recent changes in content moderation and vetting, especially since the arrival of Elon Musk. This percentage drops to 13% on Facebook and 7.3% on Instagram. However, 67% admit that they have not deleted or stopped using a social network profile for these reasons.
The government must pass laws
He 70% of respondents believe governments should pass laws to combat fake newswith Aragon (78.5%), Galicia (76%) and Andalusia (76%) being the Autonomous Communities that enjoy the greatest approval, as well as Comunidad, Valenciana (56%), Murcia region (59.3%), Balearic islands (60%) and Asturias (60%) the least.
Regarding the measures implemented by the central government, only 25% consider them worthwhile, compared to 30.5% who have no formed opinion.
Source: Hiper Textual
I am Garth Carter and I work at Gadget Onus. I have specialized in writing for the Hot News section, focusing on topics that are trending and highly relevant to readers. My passion is to present news stories accurately, in an engaging manner that captures the attention of my audience.
