A new survey has shown that only two in 100 Australians can proficiently identify misinformation.
During a recent inquiry into the impending Misinformation Bill before the Australian Parliament, representatives from the Australian Media Literacy Alliance (AMLA)—a peak industry body—highlighted that most Australians could not recognise misinformation.
The AMLA, in partnership with researchers at Western Sydney University and the University of Canberra, conducted a “scientifically representative survey” of 3,500 Australians about their views on misinformation.
A follow-up survey with 2,000 participants tested their ability to identify misinformation and their fact-checking approach.
“We found in that survey that the vast majority of Australians cannot identify misinformation,” said Michael Dezuanni, an AMLA member and a professor at Queensland University of Technology.
“Only about 2 to 3 percent are very proficient at identifying misinformation.”
The AMLA tested participants’ skills with four tasks, each illustrating misinformation.
“One of the examples was the misuse of a photograph from the bushfires that occurred during the [2019-20] Black Summer bushfires,” Dezuanni said.
“There was news reporting at the time that reused the photograph from much like a previous bush fire. And it was a very emotive photograph.
“We just asked people to identify whether or not it was an accurate portrayal of what was happening. And we found that the vast majority of people couldn’t [identify it].”
The Call for Media Literacy
Given the results, AMLA Chair Anita Planchon stressed the importance of improving media literacy among Australians.“There actually needs to be a proactive approach through all ages, from schools through adulthood, because we can start now and get it right for our future generations,” she said.
“The ability to participate in that free and open conversation is enhanced if you have some of the skills of media literacy around critical thinking about what is the what are the sources, who is actually putting forward a position, from what perspective and why.”
Echoing the sentiment, AMLA Deputy Chair Christine Evely said citizens should develop the ability to understand and adapt to the changes in the media landscape to be “critical thinkers” about the content they engage with.
“[The] need to have those critical thinking skills is paramount,” she said.
“If people don’t have those critical thinking skills and the ability to ask questions … there’s no way that people can be empowered to be able to … make decisions about what it is that they’re encountering in that media landscape.”
On the issue of having a free and open debate on different issues, Evely said it was only valuable if the people who were having the discussion could think critically about what they were discussing.
“Otherwise, they could be inadvertently continuing to spread misinformation because they’re not understanding what they’re seeing or hearing,” she said.
