Disinformation is one of the most urgent threats facing contemporary societies around the world (Tandoc, Wei Lim, & Ling, 2017). This paper analyzes the audiences of three countries, France, the United Kingdom and Spain, with different media systems (Hallin and Mancini, 2003), using data from national representative samples obtained from the 2022 Digital News Report (Reuters Institute). We analyze the association between interest in news and the degree of concern about fake news; between interest in news and the use of social networks for informational purposes (Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and TikTok); and between the use of these networks and the probability of finding false news.
Findings show several significant associations: those who are interested in the news are more concerned about its veracity, while it is more likely that those who are not interested in them do not use social networks for informational purposes and have not found false news. Finally, Spain stands out as the country where there is a stronger positive correlation between the use of the networks and the probability of finding false news and between interest in the news and the use of the networks, with the United Kingdom being at the opposite extreme.
Results also show that only a minority in the three countries say they are little or not at all interested in the news and there are also very few Internet users who have not found false news in the five sections analyzed (International politics, National politics, Local politics, Covid-19 and Climate change) in the last week, although we observe National differences.
These results are part of a broader reflection on how during the pandemic period citizens trusted more traditional media than social platforms to get information throughout Europe, but with national differences (Adam, S. et al., 2022).
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