Eurostat: How many people verified online information in 2021?
Almost half of people aged 16-74 years in the European Union (EU) saw untrue or doubtful information on news websites or social media in 2021, but only around a quarter (23%) verified the truthfulness of the information or content, Eurostat said .
In Romania, only 12% of those between 16 and 74 years of age checked the information read on news sites or social networks this year. This is the second-lowest share in the EU, after Lithuania – 11%.
At the other end, the largest shares were registered in the Netherlands (45%), followed by Luxembourg (41%) and Ireland (39%).
“In the EU, people aged 16-74 years old primarily checked if the information was truthful by checking the sources or finding other information on the internet (20%). People also checked information by discussing it with other persons offline, or using sources not on the internet (12%). The least popular method was checking by following or taking part in an internet discussion regarding the information (7%),” reads the Eurostat press release.