Not Only Social Networks: Channels of Dissemination of Fake News in the Views of the Population

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the problem of the spread of fake news in modern society. The dissemination of fictitious, unreliable information harms public trust, leading to uncontrollable consequences. The purpose of this work is to study the channels of media consumption and to identify the most problematic of them in the context of the spread of fake news. It is based on the results of a mass representative sociological survey of the population of the Republic of Mordovia—a typical representative of the Middle Volga region. During the research, it was found that fake news has penetrated quite firmly into the structures of everyday interaction between people: three out of ten respondents encountered fake news at least several times a month, and two out of ten shared it with others. The key channel for their distribution is social networks, internet publications, television, and Telegram channels. At the same time, these are some of the most popular sources of information. The results obtained can be useful for constructing mathematical models of the spread of fake news, developing measures to counter this kind of content, and developing mechanisms for regulating deliberately false and unreliable data.