Fake news confusing half the population in run up to the election

UK – More than half ( 52%) of British adults are struggling to tell the difference between real and fake news according to research from ICM Unlimited.

Fake news is becoming an increasing problem in the digital arena – so much so that Facebook recently took out newspaper ads explaining to people ways of identifying real vs fake news.

A quarter of respondents ( 25%) said they had seen fake news about the UK general election, rising to 43% among 18- 24-year-olds. However only 6% have actually reported it to an authority. 

The rise of fake news is not only impacting social media – 28% believe social media companies need to do more to deal with fake news – it is also denting people’s trust in broader media.

Of the media outlets tested in the research, the BBC is the most trusted source for news about the General Election – however, less than half the population trust it at 45%. Only a quarter ( 27%) say they trust UK newspapers.

While younger people are more confident in identifying fake news, 63% of over 65s said they find it difficult to differentiate real from fake news.

ICM Unlimited surveyed more than 2,000 people across Britain.