Fake news and misinformation top emerging concern on social media platforms: Survey

Humans are interconnected with each other and cannot live alone, as famously quoted by legendary Greek philosopher Aristotle," Man is by nature a social animal," whether it's physical socialising or networking online. Technology and the launch of apps like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram have made human lives easier by giving them access to instant news and networking but also given rise to fake news in recent years.

In a recent survey on 'Social Media and Fake News,' by Ipsos India, it was found that citizens are concerned about risks posed by increased usage of social media platforms.

According to the findings, 52% of citizens feel that fake news and misinformation are top emerging concerns on social media platforms, 46% feel cybercrime and fraud, and 34% feel theft are other major concerns.

Social media bingeing also had health hazards and psychological ramifications like depression 31%, social anxiety 28%, and cyberbullying 22%, according to the survey.    

80% of citizens are hopeful and feel by the collective effort they can stop misinformation and fake news, and 74% think it's the responsibility of the media and journalists. 

Government 72% and police/ law enforcement agencies 71% can also help in stopping the spread of fake news. Messaging app companies 69%, telecom companies/ service providers like Jio, AirTel, VodafoneIdea 68%, and NGO/ Activists 60% also play a very important role in controlling fake news in the country.

Parijat Chakraborty, Group Service Line Leader, Public Affairs and Corporate Reputation, commenting on the survey said, "Fake News and misinformation has a dangerous fallout ; it can stir up trouble, rip apart reputations and misguide, leading to unnecessary prejudice. And given the nature and penetration of social media, it can go viral and can lead to rabble rousing, it definitely is the biggest drawback of social media usage and consumption. The Cyber Security Wing has been working overtime to bring justice to cybercrime victims, with criminals constantly adopting new ways of duping online. Identity Threats are real and have been used to extort monies using fake profiles of eminent individuals. Likewise, cyberbulling is real. Social Media is increasingly becoming highly polarized, instead of a relaxing, fun place for social interactions."    

"While citizens can act responsibly by double checking on what they read without blindly belieiving, all credible sources mentioned, like media, govt, police, messaging companies can issue warning, when they read malicious content online which is fake. That itself can stem the issue from brimming over," Chakraborty further added.  

The results of the survey are based on 2935 citizens across metros, tier 1,2 & 3 towns from SEC A, B & C households via face-to-face interviews using tablets (computer aided personal interviewing – CAPI) and online interviews with different targeted groups of people.