Study: Concern about misinformation—connections to trust in media, confidence in institutions, civic engagement and hopefulness, 2023/2024
Released: 2025-06-18
In 2023, close to 6 in 10 Canadians reported being very or extremely concerned about the presence of misinformation online. Misinformation, which is news or information that is verifiably false or inaccurate, can affect public trust in institutions, which in turn can have various impacts on social cohesion or civic engagement.
A new study released today, entitled "Concern about misinformation: Connections to trust in media, confidence in institutions, civic engagement, and hopefulness," provides insights about these issues by looking at the profile of Canadians who express greater concern over misinformation online. The study also examines how these concerns are related to trust in institutions, such as the justice system and courts.
People with higher levels of education and older people are among the most concerned with misinformation
While nearly 6 in 10 Canadians (59%) reported being very or extremely concerned about the presence of misinformation online in 2023, 27% reported being somewhat concerned and 14% said that they were not very or not at all concerned.
While no significant differences could be identified across gender lines, older people and people with higher education were more likely to report having such concerns.
In 2023, close to half (46%) of people with less than a high school diploma reported being extremely or very concerned about misinformation online, compared with two-thirds (66%) of those with at least a bachelor's degree.
Additionally, just over two-thirds (68%) of Canadians aged 65 to 74 years were extremely or very concerned about misinformation online, compared with close to half (46%) of those aged 15 to 24 years.
Concern over misinformation online is associated with lower confidence in various institutions but not in the media
Among Canadians who reported having high levels of concern over misinformation in 2023, half (50%) had high levels of confidence in the justice system. In comparison, this proportion was 59% for those who were somewhat concerned about misinformation and 64% for those with low levels of concern about misinformation.
At the same time, there is no evidence that concerns over misinformation online have an impact on trust in the media in general. Specifically, Canadians who reported having high levels of concern about misinformation were just as likely to trust the media as Canadians who expressed low levels of concern about misinformation.
Concern over misinformation online and fact-checking go hand in hand
Individuals can use a variety of verification methods to address their concerns about misinformation. These can include using personal knowledge and talking with family and friends to assess the accuracy of information, as well as visiting fact-checking sites and verifying the information with other news sources.
In 2023, more than half (53%) of Canadians reported always or often using at least one additional source to verify the accuracy of news stories. Fact-checking was more common among people who said they were very or extremely concerned about misinformation online (69%) than among those who were somewhat concerned (22%) or not very or not at all concerned (10%).
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Note to readers
This release uses data from the third panel of the Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC): Quality of Life, Source of Information and Trust. Additionally, this release used the SSPC Longitudinal Weights file to include data from the fourth and fifth panels of the SSPC: Sport, Workplace Culture, Political Engagement and Shared Values as well as Social Cohesion and Experiences with Discrimination. The Longitudinal Weights file was calculated for respondents who participated in all five panels of the SSPC.
In the SSPC, misinformation is defined as "news or information that is verifiably false or inaccurate. The sharer of misinformation may or may not be aware that it is misinformation. When they are aware, it is often referred to as disinformation."
Products
The article entitled "Concern about misinformation: Connections to trust in media, confidence in institutions, civic engagement, and hopefulness" is now available in Insights on Canadian Society (75-006-X).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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