One of the biggest facts about social media that we have learned over the past couple of years, especially after Donald Trump ended up getting elected as President of the United States of America, it is the fact that there are a lot of websites out there that are sharing fake news, and one of the biggest ways in which this news ends up getting spread is through social media. As a result of this a lot of social media websites have ended up taking a much harsher approach to the news that is being spread on their platforms.
However, who actually ends up sharing all of this fake news? Well, a recent study that was conducted by a journal by the name of Science Advances discovered that there was one common denominator among most of the people that shared fake news on social media. The interesting thing is that it is not age, race, sexual orientation, creed or any other such thing that ties the majority of fake news sharers together. Instead, it is their age. Most people that share fake news on Facebook are actually over sixty five years old which puts them firmly in senior citizen territory.
As a result of this fact, people are starting to realize where the spread of fake news is coming from and why it is spreading in this manner. If you are using social media on a regular basis, be wary of people that are older than sixty five and sharing news, chances are that the news is fake!
Read Next: Where Do Fake Social Media Profiles Come From? [Infographic]
However, who actually ends up sharing all of this fake news? Well, a recent study that was conducted by a journal by the name of Science Advances discovered that there was one common denominator among most of the people that shared fake news on social media. The interesting thing is that it is not age, race, sexual orientation, creed or any other such thing that ties the majority of fake news sharers together. Instead, it is their age. Most people that share fake news on Facebook are actually over sixty five years old which puts them firmly in senior citizen territory.
Related: These Are 10 Of The Biggest Fake News Hits On Facebook In 2018Indeed, older users are disproportionately likely to share fake news, so much so that they can potentially even end up skewing statistics that don’t take the age factor into account.
As a result of this fact, people are starting to realize where the spread of fake news is coming from and why it is spreading in this manner. If you are using social media on a regular basis, be wary of people that are older than sixty five and sharing news, chances are that the news is fake!
Also Read: 5 Tips for Dealing With Fake News
Read Next: Where Do Fake Social Media Profiles Come From? [Infographic]