And more than a half of the citizens do not double-check information
From November 26 to December 7 2022 DEMOSCOPE Bureau of Public Opinion Express Monitoring conducted a survey of the citizens on the topic “Perception and Spreading of Disinformation in Kazakhstani Media and on Social Networking Sites”
*According to the results of DEMOSCOPE research, a significant part of Kazakhstani is at risk of being influenced by fake news and disinformation. The survey results showed that at least half the respondents find it hard to identify misleading information. Young respondents at the age of 18-24 turned out to be the most advanced in fact checking. They, more than other groups, tend to double check information and can easily identify a fake.*
However, a total of 51% of citizens admitted that they find it rather hard to distinguish between reliable information and a fake: 33% said that they are not always able to identify a fake, and 18% claimed that they often fail to recognise disinformation. While 41% are sure that they can easily identify a fake.
The survey inquired how the respondents identified disinformation. A total of 52% of citizens do not verify news – 44% of them do not double check information at all, and 8% prefer to trust their sources of choice. Interestingly, 6% of citizens turn to their friends and acquaintances for news, believing them to be a quite trustworthy source of information. And 5% found it difficult to give a definite answer. .
Meanwhile, more than a third (37%) of respondents say that they verify information: 27% double check with other mass media and official sources and 10% verify with Google or Yandex.
The survey asked the respondents what sources of information they used most often to get information of public importance. Multiple options could be selected. The result was a rating headed by TV-channels, which were chosen by 61% of the respondents. The second popular choice was Internet media – preferred by 40% of the respondents. YouTube and Instagram channels shared the third place with 20% and 17% respectively.
Further in the rating are:
- Acquaintances, family and friends – 13%
- Printed newspapers – 7%
- TikTok – 7%
- Facebook – 6%
- Telegram-channels – 6%
- Radio– 3%
- Other– 2%.
*According to the survey, citizens at the age of 18-24 mostly get news from Internet media and YouTube channels and watch TV less than other age groups. Young people prefer to consume content from Instagram, TikTok and Telegram.*
The Kazakhstani were also asked where they most often come across fake information. Multiple options could be selected. 41% of the respondents believe that one should approach the information from Internet media with caution. 29% think that TV channels can spread disinformation. YouTube channels were named as a source of fakes by 22%.
Further in the rating are:
- Acquaintances, family and friends – 13%
- Instagram channels – 11%
- TikTok– 8%
- Telegram channels – 3%
- Facebook – 3%
- Printed newspapers – 3%
- Radio – 2%
- Other – 8%
Interestingly, we can observe a correlation between the two ratings, so we can conclude that the chances of coming across disinformation directly depend on how often a person uses a certain source of information. This proves the thesis that disinformation can be found everywhere.
The results of the survey proved, once again, that Kazakhstani are significantly vulnerable to disinformation and can be seriously influenced by it. At the time of geopolitical crisis it is critically important to improve people’s level of media literacy, not least by including this competence in curricula of schools, universities and pre-school educational institutions.
For the press-release and infographics in the Kazakh and Russian languages follow the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lC2qbShGP5BDfJjKpP4aqk132eTO0O6I?usp=sharing
Attribution is compulsory when any part of the text is used: https://demos.kz/opros-podavljajushhee-bolshinstvo-kazahstancev-reguljarno-stalkivaetsja-s-dezinformaciej/
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Method: From November 26 to December 2022 we surveyed 1100 people in 17 regions and cities of federal subject significance (Astana, Almaty, Shymkent). The survey was conducted in the Kazakh and Russian languages via calls to landline telephone numbers. 53% of the respondents were male and 47% were female over 18. 23% chose to answer in Kazakh and 77% chose Russian. The basis of the sample was the pool of phone numbers obtained from the database of landline telephone subscribers of Kazakhstan. The maximum size of statistical error for this sample with probability of 95% does not exceed 3%. The telephone survey was carried out by the contact-center LLC “KT Cloud Lab».
The project is implemented by MediaNet International Centre for Journalism Public Foundation with the support of Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The survey data reflects the views of the respondents. For more information, please contact Snezhana Tsoy: snezhana.tsoy@medianet.kz.