--- title: "2. Political leaders, activists viewed as prolific creators of made-up news; journalists seen as the ones to fix it" description: "Americans sense two central motivations behind the creation of made-up news and information: the desire to push an agenda and to make money. Fully 86% of U.S. adults think the desire to push an agenda or viewpoint is a major reason why made-up news gets created; 71% say making money is a major reason. Fewer, […]" date: "2019-06-05" authors: - name: "Amy Mitchell" job_title: "Former Director, Journalism Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/amy-mitchell/" - name: "Jeffrey Gottfried" job_title: "Associate Director, Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jeffrey-gottfried/" - name: "Galen Stocking" job_title: "Associate Director, Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/galen-stocking/" - name: "Mason Walker" job_title: "Former Research Analyst" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/mason-walker/" - name: "Sophia Fedeli" job_title: "Former Research Assistant" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/sophia-fedeli/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/" categories: - "Media Industry" - "Misinformation" - "Misinformation Online" - "Trust in Government" --- # 2. Political leaders, activists viewed as prolific creators of made-up news; journalists seen as the ones to fix it [![A chart showing Most Americans say pushing an agenda and making money are major reasons made-up news gets created](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-01.png?w=840)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-01-png/) Americans sense two central motivations behind the creation of made-up news and information: the desire to push an agenda and to make money. Fully 86% of U.S. adults think the desire to push an agenda or viewpoint is a major reason why made-up news gets created; 71% say making money is a major reason. Fewer, though still about half (49%), think fame is a major reason, while only 12% say a major motivator is the desire to produce humor. [![A chart showing Political leaders and activists seen as the most prolific creators of made-up news and information](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-02.png?w=840)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-02-png/) The two groups thought to be the primary creators of made-up news seem closely connected to the desire to push an agenda or viewpoint. Close to six-in-ten U.S. adults (57%) say political leaders and their staff create a lot of made-up news, and about half (53%) say this of activist groups. Journalists get less blame. About a third of Americans (36%) say they create a lot of made-up news and information while a quarter (24%) say they contribute not much or none at all. Foreign actors are blamed at about the same rate as journalists (35% say they create a lot), while the public places the least blame on itself. About a quarter (26%) say the public itself creates a lot of made-up news and information – though about half (53%) say the public contributes some of that information. [![A chart showing About half say the news media have greatest responsibility to reduce made-up news](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-03.png?w=364)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-03-png/) While journalists are less likely to be blamed for creating made-up news than other actors, they are seen as the ones most responsible for reducing it. Among four groups asked about – the news media, the public, the government and technology companies – about half of U.S. adults (53%) say the news media have the most responsibility to reduce the amount of made-up news and information. This is more than twice the rate of any other group: Two-in-ten put the onus on the public, 12% on the government and 9% on technology companies. Even those who clearly affix blame to groups other than journalists believe the job of fixing it falls to the news media. For example, 57% of U.S. adults who say political leaders and their staff create a lot of made-up news believe the news media are the ones to address the problem. Similarly, 59% of those who say activists create a lot put the news media at the top when it comes to the responsibility for fixing it. ### Most say a lot of made-up news and information is about national news topics, especially politics and entertainment [![A chart showing Roughly three-quarters say a lot of made-up news is created about politics and elections … and far more Americans think a lot is created about national than local issues](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-04.png?w=711)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-04-png/) Much of the news coverage and [public discussion](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/22/579732762/facebook-says-social-media-can-be-negative-for-democracy) of made-up news and information has occurred in the context of politics and elections. This has resonated with the public. Of six topics asked about, roughly three-quarters of the public (73%) says a lot of made-up news is created about politics and elections. About six-in-ten Americans (61%) say a lot is created about entertainment and celebrities. Both politics and entertainment far exceed any other topic. About a quarter say a lot of made-up news gets created in the areas of health and medicine (27%) and business and finance (26%), while just 17% say a lot is created about science and technology or emergencies such as shootings or natural disasters. Given the dominance of made-up news topics such as politics and entertainment, more than three times as many Americans say that a lot of made-up news is created about national issues as say that about local issues – 58% vs. 18%. Three-in-ten say very little or no made-up news and information is created around local issues, events or public figures. ### Most have taken steps in response to made-up news Most Americans say they have altered their news consumption or technology habits in response to made-up news and information they come across. [![A chart showing Most have checked facts in stories or stopped getting news from an outlet in response to made-up news](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-05.png?w=840)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-05-png/) Roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults (78%) say they have checked the facts of news stories themselves, 63% have crossed a specific outlet off their list of providers and about half (52%) have changed the way they use social media. More than four-in-ten (43%) say they have responded by reducing the amount of news they get. And about one-third (32%) have publicly flagged or reported a story that they thought was made up. [![A chart showing Half say they have avoided someone because they thought they would bring up made-up news](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-06.png?w=840)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-06-png/) Made-up news has also had an impact on interpersonal relationships, according to the survey. Half of U.S. adults say they have avoided talking to someone because that person might bring made-up news and information into the conversation. [![A chart showing About three-in-ten social media news consumers at least sometimes click on stories that they think are made up](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/PJ_2019.06.05_misinformation_2-07.png?w=564)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/political-leaders-activists-viewed-as-prolific-creators-of-made-up-news-journalists-seen-as-the-ones-to-fix-it/pj_2019-06-05_misinformation_2-07-png/) It also influences how people use social media. Of the 76% of Americans who ever get news through social media, half have blocked a news source because they thought it was posting made-up news or information, the same proportion who say they have blocked someone they know for that reason. That doesn’t mean that social media users are completely ignoring made-up news. About a third of them (31%) say they at least sometimes click on the link to a story in their news feed they believe is made up – but 58% say they hardly ever or never do so. --- **Next:** [3. Americans think made-up news and videos create more confusion than other types of misinformation](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2019/06/05/3-americans-think-made-up-news-and-videos-create-more-confusion-than-other-types-of-misinformation.md)