Photo/Illutration The internal affairs ministry in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nearly half of people who read false rumors or misinformation online believe the contents are true, according to the internal affairs ministry’s first nationwide survey on the spread of false information.

Around a quarter of respondents who see these posts have shared false information either online or in person, according to the survey results released on May 13.

The survey was conducted on 2,820 people aged 15 or older from March 31 through April 2.

Fifteen real topics posted online that were later proved false were used in the survey, including: “The World Health Organization secretary-general said in 2024 there is no effective vaccine for COVID-19” and “A school of sardines or a whale washing ashore is a consequence of an earthquake or indicates that an earthquake will occur.”

Of the 844 participants who read at least one of the 15 rumors, 47.7 percent said they believed such postings were “true” or “perhaps true.”

The 15 rumors were debunked by Japan Fact-check Center, a private institution.

In addition, 25.5 percent, or 215, of the 844 respondents spread the information to others.

Asked why they shared the information, 27.1 percent of the respondents, who were allowed to give multiple answers, said “the rumors were surprising,” 22.7 percent said they “wanted to follow trends,” 21.0 percent said the rumors were “good conversation topics,” and 20.9 percent said the information was “interesting.”

The reason that the rumors were “important” was cited by 20.4 percent, while 20.2 percent said they thought “other people may benefit from the information.”

Regarding how they shared the rumors, 58.7 percent of the 215 respondents said they talked face-to-face with family members or friends, while 44.3 percent used email or messaging apps.

The information was spread through reposts or replies to the initial posts by 44.4 percent of them.

By category, 62.6 percent of the false information posts concerned health and medicine, 48.8 percent were about the economy, and 39.3 percent were about natural disasters.

When asked how they judge the accuracy of online postings, 41.1 percent of all respondents said they trust information originating from public institutions. Only 15.2 percent said they trusted information from media outlets.

However, among 163 respondents who later recognized the information was false or likely fake, 39.6 percent said they learned the truth from “television and newspapers,” including online versions.

And 30.4 percent cited “media other than television and newspapers.”

According to the survey, 35.2 percent of all respondents said they have high ICT literacy, or the ability to use information and communication services appropriately.

The Information Distribution Platform Law took effect in Japan on April 1, requiring social media operators to respond promptly to defamatory posts.

On April 30, the internal affairs ministry designated five large companies as subjects of the regulation: Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, Google, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and LY Corp.

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