By RYO INOUE/ Staff Writer
June 20, 2020 at 15:20 JST
A survey about fake news found that around one-third of respondents admitted to having shared unsubstantiated reports about the novel coronavirus pandemic because they believed them to be true.
The results of the online survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications were released on June 19. This is the first time the government has attempted to gauge the extent of fake news circulating about the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey found that younger people tended to more easily share and spread erroneous reports, which were picked up from Twitter, blogs and news-gathering internet sites.
The survey in mid-May covered 2,000 people between the ages of 15 and 69 who said they used the internet at least one day over the course of a week.
Fact-checking organizations collected information about the coronavirus that was either wrong or could lead to misunderstandings.
The survey involved 17 specific examples chosen by ministry officials, including a report that consuming water in small amounts repeatedly would be effective in preventing infection.
It found that 35.5 percent of the respondents said they shared or spread at least one of the examples given because they assumed it was true.
Those aged between 15 and 19 were more likely to share information, with 45.4 percent of that age group having done so.
A total of 29.2 percent of respondents said they spread such information through conversation, phone calls or email, while 11.8 percent used messaging apps, such as Line.
More than 50 percent of respondents said they passed on fake news because they thought the information would be helpful to others. As another reason for spreading the information, about 40 percent chose the answer: “It seemed interesting and it was a hot topic at the time.”
Many passed on the information without checking its veracity.
A private-sector forum will be established on June 22 to deal with fake news over the internet. Along with experts, officials of Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Twitter will also take part to discuss what range of information should be covered.
Out of concern for freedom of expression, government intervention will be kept to a minimum so officials of the internal affairs ministry will only assume an observer role.
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A resident of Yamagata Prefecture receives a message from the prefectural government warning against fake information related to the novel coronavirus. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
