Over half (53%) of Hungarian internet users aged 16 and over say they have encountered fake news, according to a survey undertaken by the regulator NMHH.
The majority (47%) have done so on social networking sites and half as many (23%) on other types of websites.
Two-thirds (66%) of respondents have run into harmful content, with fake news being the most frequently mentioned. NMHH notes that intentionally deceptive content is now much more determined by internet habits than socio-demographic charecteristics. As the number of internet users in Hungary grows – 6.53 million people aged 16 and over at the time of the survey – this group will become more and more heterogeneous.
The recognition of false news is largely determined by how intensely and actively an individual uses the internet. Of those who visit five or more social sites on a weekly basis, 71% have already encountered fake news, while only 41% of those who use no more than one such site have done so. And of those who feel they are very strongly connected to the internet, nearly two-thirds (63 %) have already seen fake news, while 41% of those who say their lives are barely connected to the internet have done so.
Quoting the EC’s indicator measuring the development of the digital economy and society (DESI 2020), 86% of Hungarians aged 16-74 browse social networks. This is the highest percentage in the EU.
According to NMHH research, 78% of respondents visit social networking sites more or less regularly, 77% use Facebook at least weekly, and are at least weekly active on these sites (only 0.3% visit less than once a week). A significant proportion of internet users — 43% — actively use three or more of these sites at least weekly.
Social networking sites are visited mostly via smartphones (59%), followed by PCs (59%) and tablets and smart TVs (9%).
