80 PER CENT OF GERMANS SIMPLY ACCEPT FAKE NEWS AND DON’T QUESTION IT
Munich, 26 July 2024 – A critical approach to internet sources is essential in order to identify fake news. Despite this, the majority of internet users do not check the veracity of information. This is particularly true of Germany, which ranks in the bottom third in Europe. More digital expertise is needed to improve this situation. The Munich-based PR-COM Research Lab explains why civic and entrepreneurial engagement is so crucial.
The proportion of people who have checked the truthfulness of internet content such as news or social media posts is at an alarmingly low level – even in 2023. Compared to 2021, it has risen by a meagre percentage point to just under 20% in Germany, as the latest statistical data from Eurostat shows. This puts Germany well below the European Union average. As in other areas of digital literacy, countries such as the Netherlands with 47% and Norway with 42% show a significantly better result. Further detailed questions also show that users in Germany are less willing to check sources, follow online discussions and discuss them offline.
More digital skills in society
These figures make it clear that digital skills in many European countries, but especially in Germany, are still a long way from the goal of “Online Information and Communication Skills” in the EU Commission’s Digital Competence Framework (DCF). The small improvement compared to 2021 also raises the question of how greater steps could be taken in the coming years to achieve the DCF goals by 2030.
Education and information
Dealing with digital information requires knowledge and open discussions across all generations. There is no question that digital education must become an even more central part of all school education and vocational training. It enables people to understand and deal with the technical peculiarities of platforms and social networks – such as opinion bubbles. It is also a suitable framework for talking about information channels and discussing current developments.
In addition to state and socio-political bodies, companies must also increasingly take on the task of training their employees in media use and sensitising them to their presence on digital platforms. This is an important part of the social responsibility that companies have today in the context of corporate social responsibility. The damage to a company’s image should also not be underestimated if problematic posts on social networks cause a furore.
Tips for fact-checking
In order to uncover disinformation, the European Fact-Checking Standards Network has developed the European Code of Standards, which can be used to certify organisations that check facts. This is a good starting point for users looking for reputable online portals and fact-checking organisations. In Germany, several media organisations and news agencies are certified, including dpa-Faktencheck and CORRECTIV.Faktencheck.
“Critical discourse on socially relevant topics plays a central role in a democratic society. Digital literacy therefore also means being able to critically scrutinise information online in order to form an informed opinion,” explains Dr Jona van Laak, Head of the PR-COM Research Lab in Munich. “A challenging task that is becoming more and more explosive every year. The increasing amount of information and the lack of clarity about which sources are valid make it increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.”
For further questions and discussion please contact us at research@pr-com.de.