A global study involving over 66,000 participants highlights how Generation Z, conservatives and less-educated individuals are more prone to falling for misinformation. The research aims to understand and combat the growing issue of fake news.
A comprehensive global study involving over 66,000 participants has uncovered key demographic trends in susceptibility to misinformation, shedding light on which groups are most likely to be deceived by fake news. The research, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, was conducted by a team of experts from the University of British Columbia and the University of Cambridge.
Participants in the study were asked to evaluate a mix of real and fake news headlines to determine their ability to discern fact from fiction. The results were both eye-opening and somewhat counterintuitive, revealing that younger people, specifically Generation Z (born 1997-2012), women, conservatives and those with lower levels of education demonstrated a higher susceptibility to fake news, though some groups showed better self-awareness about their limitations.
“No matter who you are, no matter what you think you know, none of us is immune to misinformation,” senior author Friedrich Götz, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, said in a news release. “People should realize that all of us are exposed to misinformation on a regular basis, and all of us are likely to fall for it at some point.”
Contrary to popular belief, the study found that digital natives — those who have grown up in the internet age — were not necessarily better at identifying misinformation. Generation Z participants not only performed worse than expected but were also aware of their struggles.
“There’s still this widespread misconception that digital natives are better at navigating these environments,” added Götz. “That has been debunked in the academic world for quite a few years, but I don’t think it has translated into public consciousness.”
The study also found that while women were slightly more vulnerable to misinformation than men, they were better at judging their ability to spot misinformation.
Assessing political views, the study revealed that individuals with more conservative leanings were significantly more vulnerable to misinformation. This trend was particularly pronounced at the far ends of the political spectrum. Though conservatives were relatively accurate in assessing their own abilities to spot fake news, those with extreme viewpoints often overestimated their proficiency.
Education also played a critical role. While those with university education or higher degrees generally performed better than their less-educated peers, they often overestimated their capability to identify misinformation.
Götz emphasized the potential for the study’s findings to inform policy and educational initiatives aimed at reducing misinformation susceptibility.
“My sense is that not all democracies right now are really trying to address this problem. Worse yet, in the polarized world we live in, some actors, including politicians, may deliberately weaponize it,” he said. “But if a government acts in good faith and wants to solve this problem in society, then I think they could use this study to raise awareness and move to more intervention-based research.”
By investigating the gaps between actual performance and self-assessment in identifying fake news, the researchers hope to develop targeted strategies to mitigate the spread of misinformation.
The tool used in the study, the Misinformation Susceptibility Test (MIST), is available online for free and presents a valuable resource for future educational efforts.