Upper House Election: Survey: 35% Believe Incorrect Info Is Correct during Campaign in July

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:19 JST, August 6, 2025

As many as 35% of people who came across disinformation or misinformation during the House of Councillors election campaign period in July believed such information was correct, including “leaning toward believing it’s correct,” according to an online survey conducted by Toyo University Prof. Morihiro Ogasawara, a social informatics expert.

The survey was conducted from July 20 to 23, and responses were received from 1,500 men and women ages 18 to 79. The respondents were asked about five pieces of information on politics that were judged to be false by a fact-checking organization, along with other pieces of correct information.

Of the 1,500 respondents, 60% had come across one or more of the five pieces of the incorrect information via television, social media and other media.

Of those who came across the incorrect information, 56% believed the information that “Foreigners are given preferential treatment in receiving welfare benefits” was correct; 53% believed it was true that “Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba threatened an announcer during a party leaders debate, saying, ‘You’d better not underestimate me,’” and 17% thought it was accurate that “The reason for making people use pencils at a voting booth is to rewrite who they voted for.

”TV was the most common source of information, with 40% saying they obtained the information on TV. Social media accounted for 21%, and video-sharing sites 6%.

“Fact-checking is important to counteract disinformation and misinformation, but it is also necessary for media to be careful so that [incorrect information] is not misinterpreted as being correct,” Ogasawara said.