We live in a world full of threats. Wars rage on, heatwaves make European summers unbearable, and economic uncertainty continues to loom. The list seems endless. But what worries people around the world most?
The spread of fake news online, the economy, and terrorism are perceived as the top national threats, according to a new survey that polled more than 31,000 adults in 25 countries earlier this year.
In Europe, concerns about online misinformation are particularly pronounced. In five out of the 10 surveyed European countries – Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom – the spread of false information is viewed as the biggest national threat, the report found.
In another four countries – France, Italy, Hungary, and Spain – false information still ranks near the top, usually tied for first or as the second most pressing concern.
The European outlier is Greece, where misinformation is seen as the third biggest threat behind the economy and climate change.
Jacob Poushter, associate director of research at the Pew Research Center in the United States, suggested that recent elections in countries like Germany and Poland may have sharpened Europeans’ attitudes toward fake news.
Both elections – Germany’s in February and Poland’s in June – were believed to be targeted by Russian disinformation campaigns.
In Germany, 81 per cent of adults considered fake news the biggest national threat, while in Poland this figure rose to 85 per cent, according to the survey.
The elections “might also be a factor in perceptions of this threat,” Poushter told Euronews Next.
Not everyone sees these threats the same way, though, with major differences by political orientation.
In Germany, for example, 55 per cent of adults who had a favourable view of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said the spread of false information is a major threat, compared with 89 per cent of adults with an unfavourable view of AfD, the report noted.
A similar gap between right and left-wing supporters was recorded in Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK.
Globally, people with left-leaning ideologies were more likely to see false information and climate change as major threats than those on the right, according to the survey.
Fake news is a widespread fear, with one exception
Concern about false information is not limited to Europe. It is also seen as the top threat in the United States and South Korea, according to the survey.
In 24 of the 25 countries surveyed, majorities see misinformation as a major threat to their countries.
Israel is the only country where fewer than half of adults (43 per cent) said they believe fake news is a major threat to their country. Another 27 per cent view false information online as a minor threat, and 20 per cent do not consider it a threat at all.
“In Israel, concerns about terrorism especially outweigh concerns about other issues, not just the spread of false information,” Poushter said.
“About nine-in-ten Israelis say terrorism is a major threat to their country, but the shares who say this about the other threats tested are significantly smaller,” he added.
Notably, age can also shape people’s perceptions of fake news, the survey found.
Older people are generally more likely to see false information online as a major threat than younger people in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Poland, Sweden, and the US.
Globally, concerns around fake news online have been high for years. But the latest report shows that worries about the state of the global economy have increased, while fears about climate change and infectious diseases have fallen across high-income countries.
In this changing environment, Poushter said that the fact that false information has remained a top perceived threat is an important takeaway.
The bottom line, he said, “is that people are concerned about a lot of issues right now”.
