Types of fake news online Europe

According to a survey held in December 2020, 18.4 percent of people aged 16 years and above in Europe had encountered manipulated content, e.g. photos and videos which had been doctored, Photoshopped, or contained deep fakes, and 15.5 percent had come across fake news sites. Fake information was the most commonly encountered type of fake news found, followed by authentic material using in the wrong context.

Types of fake news encountered online in Europe as of December 2020

Characteristic	Share of respondents
Fake information	26.9%
Authentic material used in the wrong context (photos/videos from another event/time that are designed to mislead the viewer)	24.1%
Manipulated content (photos/videos that are doctored, Photoshopped, or contain deep fakes)	18.4%
Fake news sites	15.5%
Imposter news sites designed to look like brands we already know	13%
Parody content	2.2%

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Release date

2021

More information

Region

Europe

Survey time period

December 8, 2020

Number of respondents

1,000*

Age group

16 years and older

Special properties

across 23 countries**

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

*Respondents were aged 16 to over 54, with the majority of participants between the ages of 18 and 24 (28.1 percent). The gender split skewed female (55.2 percent).
**Top five countries represented were the UK (41.2 percent), Italy (13.1 percent), Spain (7.9 percent), Greece (6.2 percent), and Romania (5.1 percent).
Question: According to The Colombia Journalism Review, there are six types of fake news. Which do you see most online today?

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