Report on the role of critical information skills in recognising mis- and disinformation

Online mis- and disinformation poses threats to societies and individuals, and young people form a group that may be particularly vulnerable to the potential negative consequences of exposure to such false information on the internet and on social media. Therefore, digital skills, news literacy, and particularly the skills that allow them to evaluate the credibility of online news and information and to distinguish between true and false, have become increasingly essential.

This report presents the findings from a multi-method study about young people’s (12 to 15 years old) skills to cope with online mis- and disinformation in three countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Finland. Through an online survey, a news exposure phase comprising a credibility evaluation performance test, and focus groups, this study aimed (1) to gain more insight into how 12- to 15-year-olds understand and engage with online news; and (2) to assess to what degree they are able to differentiate between truths and falsehoods and how they arrive at these judgments, and to understand the role of digital skills in these processes.