According a survey held in December 2020, the share of people aged 16 years and above in the United States who had encountered manipulated content, i.e. photos and videos which had been doctored, Photoshopped, or contained deep fakes, amounted to 26.8 percent. This made manipulated content the most encountered type of fake news, followed by authentic material used in the wrong context, which over 24 percent of respondents had come across.
Types of fake news encountered online in the United States as of December 2020
Characteristic
Share of respondents
Manipulated content (photos/videos that are doctored, Photoshopped, or contain deep fakes)
26.8%
Authentic material used in the wrong context (photos/videos from another event/time that are designed to mislead the viewer)
24.3%
Fake information
19.3%
Imposter news sites designed to look like brands we already know
15.1%
Fake news sites
11.7%
Parody content
2.9%
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%
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*Respondents were aged 16 to over 54, with the majority of participants between the ages of 35 and 44 (35.7 percent). The gender split skewed female (53.6 percent).
Question: According to The Colombia Journalism Review, there are six types of fake news. Which do you see most online today?
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Trusted Web Foundation. (January 28, 2021). Types of fake news encountered online in the United States as of December 2020 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 01, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306373/fake-news-by-type-us/
Trusted Web Foundation. "Types of fake news encountered online in the United States as of December 2020." Chart. January 28, 2021. Statista. Accessed April 01, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306373/fake-news-by-type-us/
Trusted Web Foundation. (2021). Types of fake news encountered online in the United States as of December 2020. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 01, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306373/fake-news-by-type-us/
Trusted Web Foundation. "Types of Fake News Encountered Online in The United States as of December 2020." Statista, Statista Inc., 28 Jan 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306373/fake-news-by-type-us/
Trusted Web Foundation, Types of fake news encountered online in the United States as of December 2020 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306373/fake-news-by-type-us/ (last visited April 01, 2025)
Types of fake news encountered online in the United States as of December 2020 [Graph], Trusted Web Foundation, January 28, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306373/fake-news-by-type-us/
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