More than 80 percent of Americans concerned about the impact of ‘made-up’ news on 2020 election: study

A study by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday shows that more than 80 percent of respondents are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about the impact of “made-up news” reported on the 2020 presidential election. 

 

The new data from the Pew Research Center’s Election News Pathways Project finds that 82 percent of respondents are concerned about made-up news and its impact, with 48 percent being “very concerned” and 34 percent being “somewhat concerned.”  

“Concern is highest among people who follow political news most closely, older adults and those who display more knowledge about politics in general,” the study reads. “The least concerned are those who don’t follow political news closely at all, people with the least knowledge about political affairs and the youngest adults.”

Only one-third of those aged 18 to 29 say the impact of fake news concerns them, with the number jumping to 43 percent among those 30 to 49 and up to 64 percent for those 65 and older.

“The less one follows political news, the less concerned one is about the influence of made-up news,” the study concludes.

The findings echo that of another Pew study in June that found that people believe made-up news is more important than terrorism, racism, climate change or illegal immigration.

Fifty percent of polled U.S. adults name made-up news as a very big problem, while 46 percent say climate change, 40 percent say racism and 38 percent say illegal immigration, according to the study released on June 7. 

 

The results of the most recent study were based on 12,043 U.S. adults polled from Oct. 29 to Nov. 11 with a margin of error of 1.43 percentage points.