True or false? Half of Slovakia's teenagers cannot tell

Slovak scientists found more than half the teenagers in their research weren't able to judge if health-related information was genuine or false.

The blbec.online website tracks disinformation on numerous websites, including Facebook.The blbec.online website tracks disinformation on numerous websites, including Facebook. (Source: Unsplash)

Teenagers have a problem distinguishing true from false information regarding health, psychologists from the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Comenius University in Bratislava found in recent research.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

The researchers tested 300 secondary school students, aged 16 to 19. They found that just 48 percent of them could identify true information. Teenagers were asked to assess if seven short articles on the health benefits of fruits and vegetables were true or fake.

Unexpected, scientists admit

“Adolescents often use the internet, that’s why we usually expect they are able to obtain and use online information. However, it seems, the opposite is true,” Radomír Masaryk, psychologist and research leader from Comenius University stated.

SkryťTurn off ads

The students were shown a variety of articles: false, neutral true or true with added elements such as superlatives, clickbait, spelling mistakes or using bold font.

Masaryk and his team found that 41 percent respondents could not tell true information from false, while 11 percent trusted the false information they were given more than the true ones.

Verified brands trusted

Teenagers didn’t even find spelling mistakes to be a red flag to judge if the provided information is true or false, the researchers found.

The research also shows that respondents paid attention to the structure, language, and design of the website. They tended to trust reliable organisations, verified brands or serious voices more.

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad