Who believe fakes? Portrait of a vulnerable audience and hidden threats

Fakes find their audience — and this is not a coincidence. Some people believe fake news due to insufficient digital literacy, others — due to psychological characteristics. Who is at risk and what are the risks?

Why do some people easily recognize deception, while others fall into the trap of disinformation? Research shows that susceptibility to fakes depends on a number of factors — from age and education to personality traits. Let’s figure out who most often becomes a victim of fake news and what threats it poses.

Analysis of data and psychological research allows us to identify several key risk groups. Potential victims of fakes are less likely to independently analyze information, preferring to take ready-made material and agree with it or reject it. In addition, victims of fakes are often characterized by the following features:

  • have weak information hygiene skills, do not follow basic safety rules on the Internet (do not check sources of information, disclose personal data);
  • have a high level of trust in Internet sources and a naive belief in the veracity of information transmitted “by word of mouth” from ordinary users;
  • exhibit increased emotional responsiveness to phenomena of any level.
    Fakes often appeal to emotions and most often to a heightened sense of justice and fears (threats to health, fear of poverty and impoverishment, fear of loss of freedom, etc.);
  • are characterized by one-sidedness, biased thinking, partiality and objectivity in assessing the actions, deeds and personal qualities of people (biased thinking);
  • give preference to sensational information that causes a WOW effect, show genuine interest in the intimate side of other people’s lives, kindly presented in a variety of sources.

A person’s character can also influence their susceptibility to false information. Scientists from Spain and the UK conducted a study that identified which personality traits influence the perception of news and their assessment. Participants with schizotypal, paranoid and hysterical personality traits incorrectly recognized fakes. They were more vulnerable to their negative consequences. These people showed higher levels of anxiety and made more cognitive errors.

According to psychologists, there are also differences in attitudes towards fake news among different generations. The younger generation is most susceptible to the influence of such information, and the more time a person spends on the Internet for entertainment, the less likely he or she is to be able to distinguish real news from disinformation.

What a fake dangerous for?

  • Material damage

Fraudsters often use fake content for their own selfish purposes, manipulating people’s gullibility and responsiveness. Thus, after natural disasters (for example, the 2023 earthquake in Turkey), fraudsters created fake aid funds, allegedly collecting money «for the victims.»

The most common schemes for deceiving young people include data theft, promises of easy money on investments, and deception when selling game items. Fraudsters create phishing sites for gamers, where information about sales of popular computer games or electronics is posted. But in reality, teenagers do not receive their purchases, and all the money goes to the fraudsters.

  • Health hazard

Fakes can cause not only material damage, but also become a threat to life and health. False treatment methods that have spread on the Internet can convince people to abandon medicine in favor of dangerous «alternatives».

In 2020, advice to “disinfect the body” with alcohol was spread on social media. As a result, several hundred people died in Iran due to methanol poisoning.

  • Psychological harm

Fakes about disasters, epidemics or terrorist attacks provoke mass hysteria. For example, in 2020, false reports about “new deadly strains of COVID-19” caused panic attacks in people with a suspicious character.

  • Social destabilization

Fake news about migrant crimes or “elite conspiracies” fuel xenophobia and extremism. In Europe, for example, fakes about “refugee violence” have repeatedly provoked mayhems.

Political fakes fuel polarization. In the US, false stories about election fraud led to the storming of the Capitol in 2021.

  • Cyberbullying and manipulation

Fake social media accounts are used for bullying or blackmail. For example, fake «polls» («Who is the ugliest person in the class?») humiliate teenagers.

Fakes are a weapon that hits the target right on target. Each group has its own vulnerability: pensioners believe «horror stories», teenagers — «hype» schemes, emotional people — conspiracy theories. Digital literacy, skepticism of sensationalism, and attention to sources are the best ways to avoid becoming a victim of manipulation.