Since 2016 when we saw the term “fake νέα” ή fake news να κυκλοφορεί και να γίνεται viral, δεν άργησε πολύ να βρει το δρόμο του στο αμερικανικό λεξικό. Έτσι αν και οι ψεύτικες information in the digital age are as old as the Internet, 2016 was the first time the term was portrayed as a very serious problem.
Everyone seems to understand the problem, now more than ever. However, according to a new poll by Pew Research, legislators should not be the ones who will solve it. The opposite, indeed.
Almost 60% of respondents agree that chaos belongs to the companies that created it. They also say that by allowing lawmakers to tackle the issue, we are further at risk of restricting our digital freedoms.
The second part of the poll becomes a little more radical.
56% of respondents replied that:
Technology companies should take action to curb false information on the internet, even if it restricts freedom of information.
Or to put it another way, they say, "We're okay with technology companies restricting the flow of information to stop fake news, but against a government that wants to do the same."
The interesting thing is that the results did not follow any kind of political line. Resistance to US government action "came from almost all demographic groups surveyed," according to the survey.
The only exceptions were those with high school knowledge or those from 50 and above.
Speaking of age, the other interesting thing is that the younger Americans who took part in the survey were also the most resistant to change of any type. Adults aged 18 to 29 believe neither regulators (65 percent) nor tech companies (56 percent) should restrict the flow of information to stop the spread of fake news.
