Delhi-NCR Youth: 91% Cite Fake News as Potential Voting Swayer

Tarundeep Singh, the chief growth officer at The 23 Watts said the survey aimed to understand the lasting shift in news consumption and the spread of misinformation.Born into technology and raised with information at their fingertips, Gen Z is redefining political movements, religion, pop culture, national events, and more.

As many as 91 per cent of Delhi-NCR's youth believe fake news ahead of the elections can influence voting decisions, while 80 per cent of the respondents admitted that fake news altered their perceptions and opinions about an event or public figure, a new survey has found.

The survey, titled ''Truth Be Told'', was conducted by communication consulting firm The 23 Watts with 1,200 respondents in the age group of 17 to 25 years in Delhi-NCR. The report examines how Gen-Z perceives, consumes and navigates the complexities of misinformation. It also sheds light on the Delhi youths' social media behaviours, mindsets, and information-sharing patterns, revealing the impact these factors have on their decision-making processes.

According to the report, 55 per cent of the respondents claimed to not have shared fake news, and the remaining spread it further because of ''belief in the information authenticity'', ''lack of time to verify'', ''desire to share breaking news'', and as an ''emotional response''.

Sixty-two per cent of the respondents believe that fake news not only misleads perceptions but also plays as a tool to affect reputations, the report noted. The report found that the majority of the fake news online is about public figures and politicians, with religion coming a distant third.

On the topic of misformation, a whopping 57 per cent of respondents claimed to be hoodwinked by fake news about politicians and public figures, while 15 per cent received fake forwards and news about religion. A close fourth and fifth in the list are technology and crime as 14 per cent of respondents received fake news about them. The situation is not all bleak as 95 per cent of the GenZ population claimed that they try to authenticate news through fact-checking websites, by checking the source, talking about it, and evaluating the tone.

However, despite the claim of authenticating news, 45 per cent of the respondents also admitted to having shared unauthenticated news that was later found to be fake. When it comes to the question of who is responsible for the spread of misinformation, 46 per cent of the respondents took the higher ground and claimed responsibility. While 37 per cent blamed the media, 17 per cent pointed to the government for not addressing fake news. A whopping 89 per cent said that the government can do more ''if it so wishes'' to control fake news.

About 69 per cent advocated for stricter policies and punishments to deal with fake news while 16 per cent said an awareness campaign would help. Fifteen per cent of the respondents believe the solution lies in instituting a national-level fact-checking mechanism. Tarundeep Singh, the chief growth officer at The 23 Watts said the survey aimed to understand ''the lasting shift in news consumption and the spread of misinformation''.

"Born into technology and raised with information at their fingertips, Gen Z is redefining political movements, religion, pop culture, national events, and more. With fake news being at the forefront of all major happenings in the nation, through The 23 Watts Insights Studio, we wanted to understand this shifting focus. ''The core of our effort is to map and mine the minds of the loud and proud Gen Z to understand the lasting shift in news consumption and the spread of misinformation,'' Singh said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)