British voters are concerned that fake news could have an impact on the forthcoming general election, our survey for Broadband Genie has revealed.
42% of the 2,000 UK adults believed that fake news had influenced last year’s (2016) EU Referendum.
The term fake news has become popular during Donald Trump’s early presidency and throughout his presidential election campaign. The term is generally defined as news content which has been created for political or financial gain.
Whilst 88% felt they would be able to identify a fake news story, 21% admitted that such a story could influence their vote on June 8th.
The survey also looks at how people access their news. Traditional methods came out on top, with 52% getting their news from the BBC, 44% from online newspapers and magazines and 42% from the print alternatives. Social Media was also revealed as a common source for new with 27% going to Facebook for updates and 12% going to Twitter.
Although 53% feel websites and the media are not doing enough to tackle fake news, 76% said they would not report relevant stories to the website or search engine should they come across it.
The survey was featured on The Sun, Press Gazette and Mobile Marketing Magazine.
