Avast survey: majority of German citizens fear fake news and targeted propaganda messages could influence federal elections.
In a survey in the run-up to the federal election in 2021, Avast found that two out of three of the German citizens surveyed believe that fake news and propaganda could influence the outcome of the federal election. More than half consider cyberattacks on candidate politicians and parties to be possible, with almost half also believing that the resulting data leaks could have an impact on the election results. The survey focuses on questions about the attitudes of the respondents towards cybercrime, fake news and social bots and how these can influence the federal election.
Fake news about the federal election
The general election is imminent. Avast, a leading provider of IT security and data protection solutions, captured the mood of over 1.000 German citizens in a survey conducted by the market research company Dynata *. According to this, two out of three people (67 percent) believe that fake news and propaganda messages could influence the election results, with only one in four (27 percent) believing that they can be influenced by news and comments on social networks. Almost half (49 percent) have already discovered fake news on social networks. More than half (54 percent) of Germans also expect cyber attacks on politicians and parties in connection with the elections.
Consuming news - a lot online
The majority of the participants find out about their choice on TV and radio (66 percent), online media (48 percent) or print media (38 percent). One in three (35 percent) obtained information from friends and acquaintances. Only one in four follows politicians or parties on social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. The majority of respondents (64 percent) do not consider social media to be credible - 18 percent believe that Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are trustworthy sources of information. Many of the respondents (38 percent) also believe that information from friends via WhatsApp or other messengers is a trustworthy source of information for the elections.
Even if almost half of the respondents (48 percent) believe that the opinion-forming process of other users can be influenced by messages and comments in social networks, only 27 percent say that their own opinion can be influenced by this.
Awareness of fake news and social bots
Almost half of the respondents have already noticed fake news on a social network - among younger Germans, there is either a higher level of awareness or a higher degree of exposure to fake news: 67 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds and 68 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds -Year-olds have consciously seen fake news before, but only 41 percent of 55 to 64-year-olds and less than a third (31 percent) of those over the age of 65. Of these, a total of 41 percent of those affected reported the false message to the social network. According to the survey, 49 percent of people also check information they have received through social media.
“A high level of awareness of fake news is essential in society in order to combat it, because anyone who starts to consume news sites with false information can end up in a wake of flawed news. Research results from our AI team show that over 17 percent of the websites that specifically disseminate misinformation link directly to other fake news sites. This can quickly create a chain of false news consumption, ”says Petr Somol, AI Research Director, Avast.
The majority of respondents (65 percent) do not know what social bots are and do not understand their function. Social bots can be an integral part of fake news and its distribution. "A social bot can communicate more or less autonomously in social media, often with the task of influencing the opinion and the course of the discussion of the readers," explains Petr Somol.
Danger awareness for cyber attacks
More than half (54 percent) of those surveyed expect that candidate politicians and parties can become the target of cyberattacks. Almost half (46 percent) believe that information stolen and published by cyber attacks would have an impact on the results of the federal election. In a comparable survey by Avast 2017, 86 percent feared that politicians and parties could become targets and 78 percent believe that this could then also influence the results of the federal election.
“It is remarkable that the Germans fear fewer cyber attacks in connection with the federal election this year - because the number of cyber attacks that we see on organizations has not decreased at the moment. It is possible that in 2017 the attack on the National Committee of the US Democrats in 2016 was still present in the minds of the people, ”says Petr Somol. "Such attacks are often more firmly imprinted on people's consciousness than general warnings about cyber attacks on political institutions, such as those issued by the Federal Ministry this year, for example."
Election year fueled fake news
In the election year in particular, the focus is on politicians. Spreading fake news and propaganda online and via social media is the order of the day. The majority (69 percent) can be influenced by the candidate's personality when deciding to vote. One topic plays a special role in this year's election: gender. After all, for 16 percent of Germans this is the decisive factor in their voting decision: seven percent of men and eight percent of women generally prefer to vote for a female candidate. However, only about half as many women (six percent) as men (eleven percent) want to choose a male candidate because of their gender.
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About Avast Avast (LSE: AVST), a FTSE 100 company, is a leading global provider of digital security and privacy products. Avast has over 400 million online users and offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect people from threats from the Internet and the evolving IoT threat landscape. The company's threat detection network is one of the most advanced in the world, using technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence to detect and stop threats in real time. Avast's digital security products for mobile, PC or Mac have been top-rated and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and other test institutes.