Disinformation in NZ

Norton released:

Nearly two thirds of Kiwi respondents (66 percent) believe they’ve encountered disinformation first-hand and 13 percent say they’ve shared information later shown to be incorrect or intentionally misleading according to new research released by NortonLifeLock (NASDAQ: NLOK), a global leader in consumer Cyber Safety.

According to the online survey of more than 1,000 New Zealanders, conducted by The Harris Poll, more than 8 in 10 Kiwi respondents (82 percent) are very concerned about the spread of disinformation but 55 percent feel powerless to stop it. And 56 percent of Kiwis surveyed often question whether information they see on social media is disinformation or fact. Disinformation is verifiably false or misleading information that is created and spread deliberately with the intention of deceiving, misleading and creating division.

Disinformation is information that isn’t just false, but that the creator knows is false. This is different to misinformation when people wrongly think something is correct.

Disinformation has taken a toll on relationships, with many Kiwis having argued with someone (37 percent), unfriended/unfollowed someone on social media (28 percent) or taken a break from social media altogether (21 percent) because of disinformation.

Taking a break from social media is often a good idea.