This research has been conducted to help inform Ofcom’s media literacy duty to heighten public awareness and understanding of the nature and impact of misinformation and disinformation online, as well as ways to mitigate exposure to such information.
The report provides evidence of how UK adults think and feel about “false or misleading” information: where they see it, why they think it’s false or misleading, and what they do and feel as a consequence.
The research explores core aspects of the news environment, as well as what UK adults think of some news production practices, and whether they are aware of some of the ways that news is produced. It also identifies groups which may be susceptible to false or misleading information in a range of ways. Reported incidence of encountering misinformation is only part of the story, and we ask a range of other questions to understand the nature of people’s beliefs and attitudes towards the news information they consume.
The research was conducted online from 27th June to 2nd July 2024 by YouGov, using respondents from YouGov’s online panel. The sample consists of 4,269 politically representative adults aged 16+ in the UK, taking into account recalled vote and a measure of political attention to include a range of perspectives, including those who did not vote or were too young.
