Teens fear their peers can’t sort fact from fiction

Teenagers who will have their say at the ballot box in the next election, under new legislation to lower the voting age as part of the upcoming Elections Bill, do not believe their peers can distinguish between facts, fake news and satire, research suggests.

More than 1.5 million teenagers aged 16 and 17 will have the right to vote at the next general election, but only a little over half were confident in their own ability to spot disinformation, and that figure fell to 36% when asked to describe their peers.

The survey of more than 550 youngsters aged 13 to 17 by Full Fact, the independent fact checkers, and Internet Matters, the online safety experts, found many young people consume news and political content online, primarily through social media feeds.

It found that 63% of young people were concerned about voters being misled by false or misleading claims, and 60% were worried AI-generated content might affect election results.  

“MPs debating the Elections Bill need to send a clear message that future elections will be protected from disinformation and AI, to keep young people engaged with politics,” Mark Frankel, head of public affairs at Full Fact said.

The report also urges the government to make media literacy a core part of the school curriculum, rather than an optional element.

“Lowering the voting age will only succeed if young people – and the parents and carers supporting them – are given the tools to navigate and engage successfully within that world, rather than attempting to shut them out of it,” Rachel Huggins, CEO of Internet Matters, said.