Incidence of Fake News Shared on Social Networks and Risk Assumed by University Students
Incidence of Fake News Shared on Social Networks and Risk Assumed by University Students

Author(s): Carlos Arturo TORRES-GASTELÚ, Joel Angulo-Armenta
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Economy, Education, Media studies, Communication studies, Sociology, Higher Education , Evaluation research, Social Informatics, Environmental interactions, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: Fake News; Social Networks; Students; University; Mexico
Summary/Abstract: The objective of this paper is to analyze the perception of university students towards fake news by assessing the relationship between the incidence of fake news shared by themselves within their social networks and the risk assumed by students when sharing news they do not fully trust. Quantitative study through the application of a survey using a Likert scale applied to 313 students from different careers of the Faculties of Administration and Pedagogy of the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico. Processing was carried out with descriptive and inferential statistics. The results point out the correlation between the risk assumed and the cases of false news shared indicating the existence of cases in university students with little predisposition to inquire into the reliability of the information, and who in turn, risk sharing it anyway. The variables of sex, age, semester, and educational program do not influence the risk that students assume when sharing news. However, students who claim not to share news they distrust also share fake news they do believe in on their social networks.

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