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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Jon Henley Europe correspondent

85% of people worry about online disinformation, global survey finds

Social media apps on phone
Social media was the main source of news in almost every country, despite trust in the information it provided being significantly lower than in traditional media. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

More than 85% of people are worried about the impact of online disinformation and 87% believe it has already harmed their country’s politics, according to a global survey, as the United Nations announced a plan to tackle the phenomenon.

Audrey Azoulay, director general of the UN’s culture body, Unesco, told reporters on Monday that false information and hate speech online – accelerated and amplified by social media platforms – posed “major risks to social cohesion, peace and stability”.

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