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67% of adult Pinoy netizens say fake news online is serious problem —SWS


Sixty-seven percent of adult Filipino internet users believe that the problem of fake news on the Internet is serious, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The March 2018 survey of the SWS also reveals that only 13 percent of adult Filipino internet users do not think that the fake news problem is serious, while 20 percent were undecided.

This results to a net score of +54, which is 11 points below the net score of +65 in December 2017.

According to the results of the March 2018 survey, 42 percent of adult Filipinos are currently using the Internet, one point higher than June 2017's 41 percent.

When SWS first conducted the survey in 2006, the annual average proportion of Internet users across the country was merely nine percent. It rose to 11 percent in 2007 and steadily increased to 38 percent in 2017.

Among the 42 percent Internet users, 32 percent use it more than three hours every day, while 21 percent use it for more than two hours, 13 percent use it for less than an hour a day and 15 percent use it a few days per week. The remaining 19 percent said they seldom use the Internet.

SWS said the perceived seriousness of fake news in the Internet is related directly to frequency of use.

The results of the March 2018 survey revealed that 51 percent of those who seldom use the Internet said fake news problem is serious.

This is followed by 64 percent among those who use it a few days per week and those who use it for less than one hour every day, 69 percent among those who use it one to two hours daily, and 77 percent among those who use it for three or more hours daily.

December 2017 survey

Meanwhile, the results of the December 2017 SWS survey shows that 60 percent of adult Filipinos said the fake news problem in the media was serious and 13 percent said it was not. Twenty-seven percent said they were undecided.

Sixty-one percent of respondents in this survey also said that the government is serious in solving the issue of fake news in the media while eight percent does not. 31 percent, meanwhile, were undecided.

Demographics

Majorities of respondents across socio-demographics say there is a serious fake news problem in the Internet.

The March 2018 survey shows that the proportion of Internet users who believe that there is a serious fake news problem in the Internet was higher in Metro Manila and Balance Luzon, both at 71 percent, than in Visayas at 68 percent and in Mindanao at 52 percent.

By locale, 68 percent in urban areas and 64 percent in rural areas say the fake news problem in the Internet is serious.

Perception of seriousness is also higher among classes ABC at 90 percent than in class D at 64 percent and class E at 62 percent.

It was also 10 points higher among men at 72 percent than among women at 62 percent.

The same observation is likewise higher among college graduates at 76 percent, than among high school graduates and below, which ranges from 54 percent to 67 percent.

When it comes to membership in social media platforms, perception of seriousness of fake news problem in the Internet was highest among Instagram users at 77 percent, followed Twitter users at 76 percent, Viber users at 75 percent, YouTube users at 68 percent, and Facebook users at 67 percent.

The surveys were conducted face-to-face from December 8-16, 2017 and March 23-27, 2018 and were participated by 1,200 adults nationwide—300 each in Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

There have sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. —KG/BM, GMA News

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