The study found that 58 percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 said they cannot recognize fake news in social media.
Among people over 65, the figure was 29 percent.
Michał Marek, who heads the External Threat Analysis Team at NASK, a Polish state research institute focused on information security, said no society is fully immune to false information.
“We are not as resistant to disinformation as we sometimes rate ourselves, or as we would like to see ourselves,” he said.
The survey was conducted in mid-December on a representative online sample of 850 adults. Commissioned by the Association of Digital Practitioners, it found broad uncertainty across age groups.
Forty-two percent of respondents said they were not sure whether they encounter false information on social media, and 36 percent said they could not judge whether they had ever been misled online.
At the same time, 45 percent said they often see fake news on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, while 25 percent admitted they are often taken in by it.
Marek said Poland’s strong political and worldview polarization increases vulnerability, especially around emotionally charged topics such as US policy, support for Ukraine, and domestic politics.
He added that disinformation is often designed to blend in, matching an audience’s views and mixing conspiracy-style warnings with neutral lifestyle content to build trust.
He said the two highest-risk groups are the youngest and the oldest, but they are targeted differently.
Younger users are more likely to be influenced through TikTok, while people over 50 are more exposed on Facebook.
Despite the results, many respondents expressed confidence in their own judgment. Thirty-nine percent claimed they had never, or almost never, been victims of disinformation.
The study also found that education is not a reliable shield.
Respondents with a higher education said they notice fake news more often, but they reported falling for it at nearly the same rate, 25 percent, as those with only primary education.
Marek said education can help, including through language skills that support verification, but it is not decisive.
The survey highlighted growing confusion around artificial intelligence content. Only 9 percent of respondents said they could definitely distinguish a real photo from an AI-generated image, while 43 percent said they would struggle.
Among those aged 65 and over, 57 percent said it was hard to tell whether they could separate genuine images from those modified or created using AI.
Marek urged users to stay calm when confronted with alarming posts and not to share them until confirmed by official sources.
“Common sense and controlling emotions are the foundation,” he said.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP, naukawpolsce.pl