Poll: Californians Want Social Media To Control Disinformation

Image: California Voter Foundation

India-West Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON, DC — On October 29, Free Press released research on Californians’ attitudes about media and technology this election year. These findings — drawn from the results of a nationwide Free Press poll — indicate that as the 2024 election approaches, Californians are concerned about the spread of online misinformation and feel they do not have enough sources of independent news to make informed voting decisions.

The Free Press poll found:

Majorities of Californians use social-media and news applications: While broadcasting TV and radio remain the top news sources for people in the state, most people also use social networks and news apps to help stay informed.

-77 percent of the Californians polled turn on TV and radio several times each week for news and information.

-58 percent of Californians use news applications on their smartphones at least a few times each week for updates on news and events.

-59 percent of Californians report using YouTube for news at least a few times a week, followed by Facebook (58 percent), Instagram (45 percent), Twitter (36 percent) and Reddit (23 percent).

Californians are concerned about online misinformation:

-81 percent said they are concerned that the information they are seeing is false, fake or a deliberate attempt to confuse.

-75 percent said they are concerned about encountering 2024 presidential-election misinformation.

-45 percent report they’ve received or encountered news stories that they believe contain misinformation or are false.

Californians want social-media companies to curb misinformation:

-66 percent said they believe that social-media companies should limit false or fake information about elections that could be considered anti-democratic.

-65 percent said it is not acceptable for tech companies to profit from running political ads that contain purposely false information.

-62 percent said it is acceptable for tech companies to block the distribution of political ads that violate the platforms’ terms of use against false information or hate speech.

Californians concerned about election coverage in their communities:

-Only 25 percent of Californians said they feel “very well informed” when voting in local elections.

-The more local the election, the fewer Californians say they have enough information to participate.

-Non-white and low-income Californians were more likely to report not having enough information to make informed voting decisions in several types of elections, ranging from local ballot measures to elections for members of the U.S. Congress.

For more: www.freepress.net