Spanish adolescents and fake news: level of awareness and credibility of information (<i>Los adolescentes españoles frente a las fake news: nivel de conciencia y credibilidad de la información</i>)

Abstract

Young people’s exposure to fake news is a growing concern in terms of the risks that are beginning to emerge related to health (anxiety and stress), democracy (loss of trust in the media and institutions) and post-truth (permanent questioning of the facts). To ascertain Spanish adolescents’ exposure to false news, their level of awareness and how they value the credibility of digital information, the ‘CHECK-M’ questionnaire was designed and administered to 480 adolescents (N = 480). The results reveal that most have heard of fake news but trust their abilities to detect this kind of content. This self-confidence leads them to also state that they know that there is information designed explicitly to deceive citizens. However, when evaluating the veracity of information, they do not attach importance to fundamental criteria such as having a recognized author or being accurate. This raises the need to reinforce adolescents’ critical thinking starting in the most elementary stages of education.