A new survey has been conducted in 18 countries to gauge opinions on fake news. It involved more than 16,000 adults and was conducted by Globescan on behalf of the BBC between January and April earlier this year. The results showed 79% of those who responded were worried about what was real and fake online. In two of the countries surveyed, China and the UK, a majority of respondents wanted their governments to regulate the internet.
The survey found that 67% of Chinese respondents liked the idea of regulation on the internet while the UK was more split on regulation, with 53% in favor. Of the 18 countries surveyed, three were surveyed for the first time . Of the 15 remaining countries which were previously surveyed in 2010, 58% said the internet should never be regulated, up from 51% when asked seven years ago.
The findings from the survey revealed that the countries which were against regulation were more resolved about their positions with high swaths of the population being against regulation, compared to China and the UK, where those in favor of regulation didn’t have a large majority. The survey found that 84% of Greeks asked were against regulation, while those in Nigeria were 82% against regulation.
An interesting finding in the study pertained to Germany. The country is gearing up for a major election and there’s currently a lot of rhetoric against the notion of fake news. Of those surveyed, 51% said they were not worried about the issue.
Source BBC News