Fake news: origin and direction in Germany 2017| Statista

This statistic shows the results of a survey on the origin and direction of fake news in Germany in 2017. Overall, eighty seven percent of respondents were of the opinion that false information was purposefully circulated to influence public opinion.

How do you think the fake news that you have come across came about?

Characteristic	Share of respondents
Purposefully circulated to influence public opinion	87%
Purposefully circulated to create a sensational story	64%
Purposefully circulated to make money on the internet	45%
Purposefully circulated to harm someone or their reputation	42%
The information was not sufficiently researched	39%
The information was sufficiently researched but the sources were unclear	22%
Accidentally circulated	2%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Source

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

February 2017

More information

Region

Germany

Survey time period

January 2017

Number of respondents

680 respondents who noticed fake news

Age group

14 years and older

Supplementary notes

The source makes no reference to survey type or the exact time period in which the survey took place.

Citation formats

Other statistics on the topic
Fake news in Germany

Level of trust in news shared on selected social media platforms in the United States as of May 2025

Trust in news shared on social media in the U.S. 2025

Rate of using social media platforms for news as of February 2025, by age group

Social media platform usage for news South Korea 2025, by age

Share of adults who use social media as a source of news in selected countries worldwide as of February 2025

Social media as a news outlet worldwide 2025

Leading social media and messaging platforms for consuming news in the Philippines in 2025

Most used social media channels as news source Philippines 2025

Access all statistics starting from $2,388 USD yearly ^*

* For commercial use only

For single users

$0 USD

Always free

Access limited to Free Statistics. Premium Statistics are not included.

Free Statistics

Based on your interests

For single users

$199 USD

per month, billed annually ¹

Buy now

Free Statistics
Premium Statistics

For teams of up to 5 people

$1,299 USD

per month, billed annually ¹

Buy now

Free + Premium Statistics
Reports
Market Insights

1 All prices do not include sales tax. The account requires an annual contract and will renew after one year to the regular list price.

Compare accounts

Leading companies trust Statista:

Related reports: Available to download in PDF or PPTX format

All data
in one format

Fake news in Germany

31 page/s
English
pptx
Detailed references

Everything on "Fake news in Germany" in one document: edited and divided into chapters, including detailed references.

Go to report

I think of Statista as Google for researchers. Statista provides you with the information you search for right away.

Dr. Horst Stipp
EVP, Research & Innovation, Advertising Research Foundation