In day April 1stconsidered in Brazil and other countries the April Fools’ Dayit is inevitable to associate the topic with calls fake news — or, in plain English, fake news. The concept, which only covered pranks classics of the date, has expanded in recent years, with the advancement of the internet and the progress of technology to drive these small aberrations. And the harmful effects, of course, also increased. Brazilians’ perception of all this, too.
One search from Instituto Locomotiva shows that almost 90% of the Brazilian population admits to having believed false content. According to the survey, originally published by Brazil Agencyeight out of ten Brazilians have already believed in fake news. Even so, 62% trust their ability to differentiate false and true information in content.
Regarding the content of the fake news they believed, 64% were about the sale of products, 63% concerned proposals in electoral campaigns, 62% dealt with public policies, such as vaccination, and 62% spoke about scandals involving politicians. There are also 57% who stated that they believed false content about the economy and 51% in false news involving public security and the penitentiary system.
The institute interviewed 1,032 people aged 18 or over between February 15th and 20th. In the opinion of 65% of those interviewed, fake news is distributed with the help of robots and artificial intelligence. Eight out of every ten people recognize that there are groups and people paid to produce and disseminate fake news.
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The biggest risk of disinformation for 26% of the population is the election of bad politicians, while 22% believe that the biggest danger is affecting someone’s reputation and 16% consider the possibility of causing fear in the population regarding their own safety as the biggest problem. . There are still 12% who see the greatest risk of harming their health care.
Naivety and shame
Being fooled by fake news generates a feeling of naivety for 35% of people, 31% feel angry and 22% feel ashamed. Almost a quarter of the population (24%) say they have been accused of spreading false information by people who have a different worldview. “To address this issue, there is a challenge for public institutions to formulate strategies that include the promotion of media education and rigorous verification of information sources, to strengthen the country’s communication and ensure that the population receives accurate and reliable information”, says the president of the Locomotiva Institute, Renato Meirelles.
(With Agência Brasil)
