EU Citizens Demand Action Against Disinformation
More than half of the European Union’s population harbors doubts about the accuracy of information found on the internet. Recognizing deceptive content and actively countering it appears to be more intuitive for the younger and more educated demographic. A substantial 90% of Europeans believe that both tech companies and government entities should bear responsibility in addressing this issue.
Within the EU, there is a growing expectation for heightened efforts to combat the intentional spread of false or manipulated information across the internet.
A staggering 85% of EU citizens assert that the political sphere should take more substantial action to counteract the dissemination of disinformation. Furthermore, an impressive 89% demand increased diligence from social platform providers. This call for enhanced intervention coincides with a significant awareness of the issue among the EU populace, as revealed by a fresh study conducted under the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s “Upgrade Democracy” initiative.
This study underscores that more than half (54%) of the participants surveyed frequently or very frequently experience uncertainty regarding the authenticity of internet-sourced information. Of these, 39% acknowledge that they are consciously aware of instances of disinformation.
