Internet Misinformation a Source of Stress, Survey Finds; Also Reduces Overall Interest in News

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:21 JST, May 2, 2025

Nearly half of people exposed to misinformation on the internet felt stress and anxiety and/or had decreased interest in the news, according to recent survey results.

The Japan Fact-check Center (JFC) and Dentsu Soken Inc. announced the results on April 2.

“This is a serious issue in our information environment that needs to be addressed by society as a whole,” said Shinichi Yamaguchi, an associate professor of social informatics at International University of Japan who supervised the survey.

The poll was conducted online in February, targeting 5,000 men and women aged 15-69 nationwide who responded in a preliminary survey that they had “seen or heard” false or misinformation.

Of this group, 48% said that online misinformation made them “feel stressed or anxious,” while 44% said it “decreased [their] interest in the news as a whole.”

Among those who felt they saw or heard misinformation every day, 32% cited “social media” as the most common source of misinformation. This was followed by “online news” at 26% and “video sharing services” at 24%.

Meanwhile, 47% responded that they have never engaged in fact-checking to confirm the truth or falsity of information. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they wished there was an authentication or other kind of system to check the reliability of information on the internet.