Poll: 1 in 4 says readers ‘most responsible’ in stopping fake news

Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults say the responsibility for stopping the spread of fake news — like the recent “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory — falls on the readers, according to a new poll.

A Morning Consult survey released Tuesday found that 24 percent of adults believe news consumers have the greatest obligation to prevent fake news stories from reaching others.

{mosads}Twenty percent remain unsure or have no opinion, while 17 percent said social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter should bear the responsibility.

Fourteen percent said the government should take the lead on stopping fake news, followed by 10 percent who said web service providers, and 9 percent who picked search engines like Google. Five percent said “none of the above.”

Pollsters also found encounters with fake news stories are a common occurrence for the majority of U.S. adults.

Thirty-one percent said they see fake news more than once a day, followed by 18 percent who said once daily and 11 percent who answered once every few days.

Six percent said once weekly, while 8 percent said less than once weekly. Twenty-six percent were unsure or had no opinion.

Tuesday’s results additionally found high support for potential censorship of fake news by private companies.

Seventy-one percent said, for example, it would be appropriate for search engines like Google to remove news stories determined to be false. The same number of people also said social media sites could block fake news. Sixty-seven percent said it would be appropriate for web service providers to take action.

The dissemination of false and incendiary stories that gained steam throughout the presidential campaign came to a head this week when a man fired a gun in a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant — a widely read fake news story claimed the shop was a front for a child-sex ring run by former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

Morning Consult conducted its latest survey of 1,605 U.S. adults online from Dec. 1 to 2. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.