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Misinformation/trust in media
Domain
Good governance
Subdomain
Democracy and institutions
Indicator
Misinformation/trust in media
Definition
Proportion of the population by level of trust in the information they receive from selected media environments.
Measurement
This indicator is measured in the Canadian Social Survey (CSS).
In the CSS, survey respondents are asked:
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means "Not at all" and 10 means "Completely", to what extent do you generally trust the news or information you receive from the following sources?
- Media
- Internet, other than social media
- Social media
- Television
- Radio
- Print media
Data sources
Data analysis
- Confidence in institutions and the media, 2023 (The Daily, February 13, 2024)
- Concerns with misinformation online, 2023 (The Daily, December 20, 2023)
- Canadian Social Survey - Quality of Life, Virtual Health Care and Trust, 2023 (The Daily, November 10, 2023)
Additional information
The CSS also asks survey respondents:
From which source do you get most of your news or information?
- Internet, other than social media (Include: web pages, podcasts, blogs)
- Social media (Include websites, forums and applications where users create and share content or participate in social networking.
e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok)- Television
- Radio
- Print media (Include: newspapers, magazines)
- Other
The Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC) asks survey respondents:
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means "Not at all" and 10 means "Completely", to what extent do you generally trust the news or information you receive from the media?
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means "Cannot be trusted at all" and 5 means "Can be trusted completely", what is your level of trust in each of the following as a source of reliable news or information?
- Close contacts
- Federal government communications
- Provincial, territorial or municipal government communications
- Scientific experts or peer-reviewed journals
- News organizations
- Social media posts by other users
- Other Internet sources
How often do you use at least one additional information source to verify the accuracy of news stories about current issues you encounter?
- Always
- Often
- Sometimes
- Rarely
- Never
What are the typical reasons you do not verify the accuracy of some or all of the news stories about current issues you encounter?
- Don't think to verify
- Lack of time
- Don't know how to verify
- Lack of interest or motivation
- Too difficult to verify
- Verification isn't necessary
- Other reasons
Compared with three years ago, do you find it easier, harder or about the same to distinguish between true and false news or information?
- Easier
- About the same
- Harder
How concerned are you about the presence of misinformation online?
- Extremely concerned
- Very concerned
- Somewhat concerned
- Not very concerned
- Not at all concerned
In addition, the Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual global survey, collects data on this topic, including data for Canada. Survey respondents are asked:
When looking for general news and information, how much would you trust each type of source for general news and information? 9-point scale.
- Traditional media
- Search engines
- Owned media
- Social media
- Date modified: