We searched the Public Opinion filter of the Mettacomms platform to learn more about American attitudes to information and mis-information. The information that Mettacomms surfaced was clear and unambiguous.
1. Growth of Misinformation
Back in 2020, 60% of Americans believed that made-up news had a “major effect on the outcome of the election”. In the most recent Presidential election (2024) 7 out of 10 American voters closely followed the news during the campaign. There was a genuine hunger to find out what was happening so that their vote would be an informed one.
Back in 2020, 60% of Americans believed that made-up news had a “major effect on the outcome of the election”. This time around 73% of Americans said that they saw inaccurate news either somewhat often or very often. But the problem is deeper than that.
2. Identifying Misinformation
52% of Americans said that they generally find it difficult to determine what is true and what is not. Statistics determined that the remaining 47% found it easy.
In 2023, US Adults were asked to name examples of made-up news about Covid 19. The level of confusion about truth -v- misinformation can be seen from the following:
Americans identified as fake news that Covid “is not a serious threat and is like the flu”. This was correctly identified. However, they also identified this statement as fake news: with Covid “we will see millions of deaths”. This was not fake news. It was the truth.
Similarly, they identified that Covid is “cured with supplements, minerals and vitamins” as Fake News. Again this was correctly identified. But they additionally identified that the Covid “vaccine will be ready in a few months” as fake when, in fact, it was true.
3. Restricting Fake News
Support for action to restrict fake news has been rising for years. 55% of Americans support government action to restrict false information online, while 65% support the tech companies restricting the information.
4. Add a layer of Artificial Intelligence
In a commentary published by the Brookings Institute in November 2024, they said that “the 2024 campaign was rife with organized efforts to sway voters, twist perceptions, and make people believe negative material about various candidates.”
Artificial Intelligence, at its most basic, can allow photographs to be doctored to show people holding flags, cheering a team, marching in support of a cause that they do not subscribe to. But It is much more sophisticated than that.
Back in 2018 a mimic was needed to over-dub a person’s voice onto existing video. Artificial intelligence can now create videos using a person’s own voice (based on about 5 minutes of speech). However, that voice can speak sentiments that the individual doesn’t hold. In 2025 the video animation and voice are all adapted from real footage and the result is a seamless fooling of the viewing public.
AI also includes the appropriation of real individuals to support causes that they do not subscribe to. One example of this from the recent election was the post on Truth Social by Donald Trump showing Taylor Swift and her ‘Swifties’ endorsing his candidacy.
She had not, in fact, endorsed his candidacy and her fans were not wearing pro-Trump tee-shirts. But people also share quickly, as soon as they see something, so the potential for these posts to go viral is very real.
5. Response of Social media platforms
Social Media, however, is running counter to these trends. Platforms are removing fact checking and moving to community notes instead. Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X will all use this model in the future. It will be interesting to see how social media users react to this development.
Conclusion.
The hunger for verified news is real. The desire to be informed is real. The move to social media as a source of news is a definite trend. The growth of artificial intelligence and the ability to mis-use it to create misinformation is also very real, as is the inability of the people to determine real from fake. This is not just an American problem. This is a worldwide phenomenon.
Note: This research was first presented at an online global Masterclass given by Ellen Gunning, CEO of Mettacomms, on January 23, 2025.
Mettacomms is a communications intelligence platform which accesses global, verified sources of information from five filters: Politics, Public Opinion, Economic Insights, Academic Research and Media.
The Public Opinion and Media filters on the Mettacomms platform were used in the preparation of this presentation. Mettacomms filters surfaced information from: Brookings Institute, Pew Research & American media.
