Misinformation

Read a Q&A with Amy Mitchell, director of journalism research at Pew Research Center, on a new report that explores Americans' ability to distinguish factual news statements from opinions.

For a recent study on automated accounts and Twitter, we had to answer a fundamental question: Which accounts are bots and which accounts aren’t? Read a Q&A with Stefan Wojcik, a computational social scientist at the Center and one of the report’s authors, on how he and his colleagues navigated this question.

Read key findings and watch a video about our new study on how bot accounts affect the mix of content on Twitter.

An estimated two-thirds of tweeted links to popular websites are posted by automated accounts – not human beings.

Predictions from experts about truth and misinformation online in 2027, from @pewresearch and @ImagineInternet.

Experts are split on whether the coming years will see less misinformation online. Those who foresee improvement hope for technological and societal solutions. Others say bad actors using technology can exploit human vulnerabilities.

People deal in varying ways with tensions about what information to trust and how much they want to learn. Some are interested and engaged with information; others are wary and stressed.

Many experts say lack of trust won't hinder increased public reliance on the internet. Some expect trust to grow as tech and regulatory changes arise; others think it will worsen or maybe change entirely.

Roughly four-in-ten Americans have personally experienced online harassment, and 62% consider it a major problem.