85% of citizens worried about disinformation UNESCO survey shows
85% of citizens are worried about the impact of disinformation and 87% believe that it has already had a major impact on the political life in their country, according to a UNESCO survey comprising 16 countries that will have general elections in 2024. Also 87% are worried about the impact of disinformation on the upcoming elections in their country with 47% being “very concerned”.
The reliability of online information being even more crucial during elections, says UNESCO that together with IPSOS made the survey.
“The use of social media as a daily source of information has rapidly grown over the past 15 years, to the point of now surpassing print media, radio, and even television”, the UNESCO report says.
On average in the 16 countries surveyed, 56% of internet users frequently use social media to stay informed about current events, far ahead of television (44%). But there are differences among population groups: television is the primary source in the most developed countries (55% compared to 37% for social media), while it lags significantly in countries with high (42% vs 63%) or medium/low levels of Human Development Index (HDI) (37% vs 68%)
Traditional media, especially television, are the most trusted sources in terms of credibility and quality of the news they provide to the public.
“Overall, 66% of those surveyed have trust in the news broadcast on television, 63% in radio news, and 61% in print media news, compared to only 50% for news gathered from social media.”
“Across all 16 countries, 68% of internet users told us that social media is the place where disinformation is most widespread, far ahead of groups on online messaging apps (38%) and media websites/apps (20%). This sentiment is overwhelmingly prevalent in all countries, age groups, social backgrounds, and political preferences.”
Hate speech is also widespread according to the public: 67% of internet users have encountered it online (including 74% of those under 35).
“They overwhelmingly believe that hate speech is most prevalent on Facebook (58%), followed by TikTok (30%), X (18%), and Instagram (15%).”
“According to citizens, it is primarily LGBT+ people (33%) and ethnic or racial minorities who are victims of online hate speech in their country, although there are significant variations between countries.”
“In this context, citizens strongly believe that the issues of disinformation and hate speech must be addressed by both governments and regulatory bodies (88%) and social media platforms themselves (90%). They even think, in similar proportions, that both these actors should play an “active role” (at 89% and 91%, respectively) in combating them during election campaigns.
“More specifically, an overwhelming majority of internet users agree with the idea that “governments and regulators should be able to require social media platforms to put in place trust and safety measures during election campaigns to protect the integrity of elections”: 89% endorse this proposal, which garners consensus across all countries, age groups, social demographics, and political preferences.”
“It’s also worth noting that in the public’s view, international organizations such as the UN or UNESCO can have a role to play in combating disinformation: 75% endorse this idea (with 83% in medium/low HDI countries), and 33% endorse it “strongly.“, the UNESCO report says.
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