A report investigating media literacy and news consumption revealed that consumers in Brazil found telling the difference between misinformation and facts most difficult, with 34 percent saying that they found it very or somewhat difficult to differentiate between false and real content. By contrast, Indian and Nigerian audiences were the least likely to have problems in this regard and reported finding it relatively easy to identify misinformation.
Level of difficulty differentiating between true and false information online among consumers in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020
Characteristic
Total EMEA
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
India
Nigeria
U.S.
Very easy
3%
8%
5%
9%
18%
20%
7%
Somewhat easy
25%
31%
32%
39%
37%
38%
32%
Neither easy or difficult
39%
36%
30%
14%
22%
22%
28%
Somewhat difficult
27%
19%
27%
28%
18%
17%
26%
Very difficult
3%
3%
4%
6%
4%
3%
5%
Don't know/not sure
1%
3%
2%
3%
1%
1%
2%
0%50%100%150%200%250%300%
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Question: Thinking about all the different types of information about news and current affairs that you see online, how easy or difficult do you find it to tell the difference between what information is true and what is false?
Survey dates for EMEA were January 6 to March 27, 2020. Dates for non-European countries were February 12 to June 18. 2020.
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Ipsos. (March 15, 2021). Level of difficulty differentiating between true and false information online among consumers in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 01, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227193/identifying-misinformation-difficulty-worldwide/
Ipsos. "Level of difficulty differentiating between true and false information online among consumers in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020." Chart. March 15, 2021. Statista. Accessed March 01, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227193/identifying-misinformation-difficulty-worldwide/
Ipsos. (2021). Level of difficulty differentiating between true and false information online among consumers in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: March 01, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227193/identifying-misinformation-difficulty-worldwide/
Ipsos. "Level of Difficulty Differentiating between True and False Information Online among Consumers in Selected Countries Worldwide as of June 2020." Statista, Statista Inc., 15 Mar 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227193/identifying-misinformation-difficulty-worldwide/
Ipsos, Level of difficulty differentiating between true and false information online among consumers in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227193/identifying-misinformation-difficulty-worldwide/ (last visited March 01, 2025)
Level of difficulty differentiating between true and false information online among consumers in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020 [Graph], Ipsos, March 15, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227193/identifying-misinformation-difficulty-worldwide/
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