Challenges of digital literacy, fake news, and obtaining news content through social media
In today’s digital age, social media platforms have evolved into integral components of modern society, shaping how individuals communicate and consume information. Platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok have revolutionised the way news is accessed and shared worldwide due to their ease of access, low cost, and rapid dissemination of content. However, this convenience has introduced a significant challenge: the widespread circulation of fake news, which undermines the credibility of information shared on these platforms. The World Health Organization has even coined the term ’infodemic’ to describe the overwhelming surge of misinformation, or ‘fake news’, that floods online spaces.
Studying the role of social media in the dissemination of fake news, specifically examining how young adults interact with news content on social media, is thus crucial. TikTok, a Chinese developed platform originally designed for short video sharing, has emerged as a significant venue for news consumption among its predominantly young user base. Notably, the platform has rapidly become a cultural phenomenon, surpassing other social media platforms in popularity and creating trends that are significantly impacting culture and behaviour worldwide. With approximately 850 million monthly users worldwide, mostly under 25 years old, TikTok has the ability to influence ideological formation, political activism, and information dissemination. In the era of fake news, it is critical to understand whether young people especially possess the necessary skills to discern between the truth and false information.
Media- and social media literacy, education and interventions in promoting critical thinking as well as responsible information consumption among young adults are more important than ever. Fake news refers to deliberately presenting and spreading false or misleading information as if it were fact. Furthermore, fake news and misinformation can also be used for propaganda.
Although young adults of today have most likely grown up with social media, it is still a relatively new phenomenon with a lot of unknown components. In this light, one notable gap appears to be news literacy, specifically among young adults on TikTok. Do young adults actively seek news on TikTok? How do young adults engage with and evaluate information in the context of fake news on TikTok? What might explain their belief or scepticism about the news messages they receive and are they confident in their abilities to spot fake news?
Employing semi-structured interviews with a sample of 18–25-year-old politics students, who use TikTok at least once per week, gives in-depth answers to these questions, as it generates data from young, highly educated individuals with a keen interest in politics, accessing social media and news messaging.
All participants engaged with TikTok daily, primarily for entertainment purposes, with content often centred around food and leisure activities. They all admitted to almost mindlessly scrolling on TikTok’s For-You-Page longer than initially intended. Most participants said they do not use TikTok to find news, but rather that the news finds them, which correlates with previous studies.
Women spend more time on the platform and integrating it into their routines, while men exhibit broader content preferences including politics and news. Despite some participants using TikTok for news consumption, a noticeable tendency to attempt to avoid news content was evident, highlighting varying levels of interest and engagement with news on the platform.
The interviews also revealed that encounters with fake news were fairly common, with participants reporting various experiences of misinformation, disinformation, and bias. Men generally perceived TikTok as unsuitable for credible news, emphasising the need for increased fact-checking by content creators before posting videos on the platform. Women reported a more proactive approach to verifying information, using external tools and attempting to consult reputable sources to do the fact checking themselves. This suggests a gendered difference in attitudes toward news credibility and the responsibility of fact-checking.
Confidence in discerning fake news also varied substantively. Men tended to be overconfident in their ability to identify misinformation, often attributing gullibility to others. Women expressed concerns about their susceptibility to fake news. The overall lack in confidence and variation by gender point to the need for enhanced digital literacy, emphasising critical thinking and fact-checking skills more generally but importantly also across different demographics. It is noteworthy that the problems unravelled on a highly skilled sample, may be more severe amongst less skilled young adults.
This is in line with other research according to which young people view Google, as well as other social media platforms, as reliable tools for fact-checking and cross-checking information. This is concerning, because we can consider this improper fact-checking, suggesting a lack in skills relating to critical thinking, identifying valid information, and fact-checking, but also social media literacy across the board.
As such, the research implies and highlights the necessity of improving social media literacy among young adults, particularly in their ability to discern credible news sources on platforms like TikTok. Educational initiatives could target the observed overconfidence in social media users and reinforce fact-checking techniques and promote credible resources to combat misinformation. By promoting critical thinking and accurate information evaluation, young adults can better navigate the complexities of the digital information landscape.
Overall, the nuanced patterns of TikTok usage, content preferences, social media literacy, and confidence levels in young adults, underscore TikTok's potential impact on news consumption and the challenges posed by fake news. The insights gathered emphasise the need for both continued research on social media and digital literacy of all age groups as well as educational efforts to enhance digital literacy and help young adults now and in the future to effectively navigate the challenges of dense information in the digital world. At the same time initiatives need to be cautious about the potential of ‘backfiring’, referring to attempts to educate individuals about media literacy and fake news that leads to heightened scepticism and distrust towards all media sources, including the legitimate ones.
Short bio: Alexandra is a recent MA Politics and International Relations graduate from the University of Aberdeen, soon embarking on a new adventure as a Master of Social Science Student at the University of Helsinki, specialising in Media and Democracy. With a keen interest in global affairs, Alexandra is excited to research more on how modern media and social media shape our world. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling to new places and watching TikTok (ironic, right?).
Supervisor’s appraisal: Alexandra’s dissertation addresses a to date issue and interesting and novel research question. It has been methodologically sound, and revealed really interesting findings about TikTok usage amongst highly educated young adults. Even though some may raise concerns about how social media affect the wider society. This is a great piece of work that passed with one of the highest marks and won the best Politics dissertation prize in 2023-24. Congratulations, Alexandra!
