‘I'd Probably Scroll by’: An Exploration of Young People's Views on Spotting and Stopping Misinformation

Misinformation is one of the defining challenges of our era. Many young people are online for multiple hours a day and are exposed to vast amounts of misinformation. However, there is limited research exploring their understanding of what misinformation is and whether they feel equipped to spot and challenge it. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively explore young people's views on misinformation. Participants were N = 37 pupils aged from 11 to 14 who participated in focus groups. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified: awareness of misinformation, detection of misinformation and stopping misinformation. Although participants were aware of misinformation, they felt that spotting it was an intuitive skill and relied on others to help identify it. They did not feel empowered to challenge misinformation and felt the platforms had a key role in stopping the spread. This has implications for the design of misinformation interventions.