Australians are the most concerned about misinformation online
AUS: 74%; USA: 73%; RSA: 73%; POR: 71%; SGP: 71%; UK: 71%; SPA: 69%; IRE: 68%; PHI: 67%; BRA: 67%; MEX: 65%; CHL: 64%; CAN: 64%; GRE: 64%; MAL: 62%; TUR: 61%; ARG: 60%; COL: 59%; SRB: 58%; FIN: 58%; CRO: 57%; Global: 57%
Data: Park, S., Fisher, C., McGuinness, K., Lee, J., Fujita, M., Haw, A., McCallum, K. & Nardi, G. (2025). Digital News Report: Australia 2025. Canberra: News and Media Research Centre, University of Canberra. CC BY-NC 4.0.
Graphic: @DiDoesDigital.
Which of the following do Aussies think pose a major threat in terms of false and misleading information?
Waffle charts: Facebook: 59%; TikTok: 57%; X (Twitter): 49%; Instagram: 42%; YouTube: 35%; WhatsApp: 26%.
Data: Park, S., Fisher, C., McGuinness, K., Lee, J., Fujita, M., Haw, A., McCallum, K. & Nardi, G. (2025). Digital News Report: Australia 2025. Canberra: News and Media Research Centre, University of Canberra. CC BY-NC 4.0.
Graphic: @DiDoesDigital.
What can you do?
Verify dodgy information using: A news source you trust (e.g. ABC), Search engines (actual search results, not AI guesses), Official sources (e.g. government website), A fact-checking website, Somebody you know and trust personally, Comments from other users, and Wikipedia.
Before sharing information: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context
Source: Mike Caulfield, https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/.
Adapted under CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Australians are deeply concerned about misinformation online. More so than any other country among the 42 compared.
As usual, Facebook is a horrendous source of misinformation. If you use Facebook, have a think about verifying posts before sharing.
www.canberra.edu.au/research/cen...