Only four percent of people can reliably identify fake news headlines
Evidence
In a study with just over 1,500 people, participants were shown six headlines much like the example above, three of which were false, and three of which were factual. Although about 50 per cent of respondents were ‘fairly confident’ in their ability to tell which was which, only 4 per cent identified all headlines correctly! Perhaps the human brain isn’t the ultimate fact-checker after all. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 43
Categorization
- CANDY: A neat, self-contained stat about how bad people are at spotting fake news.
- XREF: connects to: Fact-check warnings fail to stop repeated fake headlines gaining perceived truth — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 70; Fake news is deliberately false and evolved from clickbait to political manipulation — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 213; Even misinformation experts fall for convincing fake news footage — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 45 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Even misinformation experts fall for convincing fake news footage
#exemplifies(0.90) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 45 - Fact-check warnings fail to stop repeated fake headlines gaining perceived truth
#corroborates(0.85) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 70 - Fake news is deliberately false and evolved from clickbait to political manipulation
#expands(0.75) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 213 - Urgent threatening messages, group pressure, and shallow assessment drive fake-news sharing.
#qualifies(0.75) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 325