How do people protect themselves against online misinformation? Attitudes, experiences and uptake of interventions amongst the UK adult population

Report

The prevalence of misinformation online continues to be a global problem that has elicited responses from a variety of stakeholders. Many interventions have been developed and much research has tested their efficacy, often providing promise that effective solutions are possible. 

However, far less is known about public support for and uptake of such interventions. In a nationally representative survey of 2000 adults living in the UK, we examine people's engagement with a range of interventions along with misinformation exposure, concerns, susceptibility, and trust in different institutions. While support for and engagement with platform-based solutions and publicly presented initiatives such as downranking, deplatforming, fact check overlays and debunking campaigns is positive, active participation with various important resources is low. Though much work supports their efficacy, just 3% of the population have taken a media literacy course and 7% have used self-help resources such as fact-checking tiplines. Engagement with reporting functions is better, but of the 37% who had flagged misinformation, only 15% were satisfied that appropriate action had been taken. 

Our results are important because no matter how effective various interventions are shown to be, they will only be useful if the public is supportive of and engaged with their implementation.

Authors: Enock, FE; Bright, J; Stevens, F; Johansson, P; Margetts, HZ

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Alan Turing Institute
• Publication date: 2024-05-01
• Language: English
• Keywords: social media; online safety; online harms; misinformation