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10 Dec 2024

Saturday, 7th, December, 2024, Are Australian Adults Online Media Literate? DR. Sora Park, University of Canberra, Media Research Centre

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Saturday, 7th, December, 2024, Are Australian Adults Online Media Literate? DR. Sora Park, University of Canberra, Media Research Centre

Madeleine and Macca talk to DR. Sora Park, University of Canberra, Media Research Centre;

New research reveals 97 percent of adult Australians have poor or limited ability to verify information online

A new report, jointly released today by the University of Canberra (UC), Western Sydney University, QUT and RMIT University, reveals that 97 percent of adult Australians have poor or limited ability to verify information online.

The report also found that more than three-quarters (78 percent) of research participants reported encountering misinformation during a one-week diary study. Of those who did see misinformation, they encountered on average 7.5 examples of misinformation per week.

Lead author Professor Sora Park, from UC’s News and Media Research Centre, said the findings reveal a concerning situation – Australians are encountering large volumes of misinformation every week, but few have the skills to fact-check what they’re seeing.

“The sheer volume of information online and the speed at which new information travels can be overwhelming and very difficult to navigate,” Professor Park said.

In the study, participants were presented with a four-part test of their ability to verify the information in four pieces of media: two social media posts and two website pages.

“Of our research participants, 45 percent showed no ability at all to identify misinformation, and 52 percent had emerging ability. Only 3 percent of those studied could be classed as having a more developed ability,” Professor Park said.

“Even among those who felt confident that they could check if information they found online is true, a large proportion got all the answers wrong across all four tasks.”

Education was an important factor related to the respondents’ ability to verify information online, as was news and information consumption habits.

Dr Sora Park is Professor of Communication and Professorial Research Fellow at the News & Media Research Centre, Faculty of Arts & Design, University of Canberra. She is internationally recognised as an expert in digital media users and media policy, with a special focus on news consumers and digital inclusion. She has an outstanding record of grants management and research translation, producing more than 200 academic publications (4 books, 10 book chapters, 4 edited volumes, 80+ journal articles, 50+ refereed conference papers, 40+ research reports, 5 public submissions and 2 other publications) and over 70+ invited talks and presentations.

Sora is a major contributor to the field of Communication and Media Studies in Australia and internationally, notably as the former Associate Dean of Research at the Faculty of Arts & Design, Director of the News & Media Research Centre, the Chair of Media Industry Studies Interest Group, International Communication Association (ICA) and the President of Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (2019-2021)

https://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/media/media-releases/2024/december/new-research-reveals-97-percent-of-adult-australians-have-poor-or-limited-ability-to-verify-information-online