This report explores awareness and concern about fake news, internet bubbles and post-truth-politics in Canada and around the world.

1. © 2018 Ipsos. All rightsreserved. ContainsIpsos' Confidential and Proprietary informationand may not be disclosed or reproduced without the prior written consent ofIpsos.
FAKE NEWS, INTERNET BUBBLES,
POST-TRUTHAND TRUST
September2018

2. Public Perspectives © Ipsos 2018 |
GENERAL THEMES FROM THE DATA ARE…
• Seven-in-ten Canadians believe that the average person in the country
lives in their own “bubble” on the internet, but only three-in-ten believe
this about themselves.
• Canadians lack confidence that the average person can tell real news
from fake news, but they are significantly more confident in their own
abilities to do so. Men are particularly confident in their ability to spot
fake news.
• Half of Canadians say they have seen fake news stories, significantly
lower compared to the US and most other countries.
• Canadians blame personal bias, politicians, and the media/social media
for misperceptions.
• A majority of Canadians believe that the average person trusts politicians
less today than in the past, driven by a belief that lying in politics and the
media is more prevalent today; Americans significantly more skeptical
than Canadians.
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3. Public Perspectives © Ipsos 2018 |
FAKE NEWS, INTERNET BUBBLES, AND POST-TRUTH POLITICS
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Seven-in-ten Canadians believe that the average person in the country lives in their own “bubble” on the
internet, but only three-in-ten believe this about themselves
65%
69%
77%
Worldwide
Canada
US
34%
31%
32%
The average person in my country lives in their
own ‘bubble’ on the internet, mostly connecting
with people like themselves and looking for
opinions they already agree with.
I live in my own bubble on the internet,
mostly connecting with people like myself
and looking for opinions I already agree with.
[% Strongly/somew hat agree]

5. Public Perspectives © Ipsos 2018 |
58%
54%
59%
63%
64%
65%
41%
39%
29%
Worldwide
Canada
US
5
Canadians lack confidence that the average person can tell real news from fake news, but they are
significantly more confident in their own ability to do so
I am confident that the
average person in my
country can tell real news
from ‘fake news’.
I am confident that I can
tell real news from ‘fake
news’ (entirely made up
stories or facts).
[% Strongly/somew hat agree]
I think I’m better at spotting
‘fake news’ than the average
person in my country.

6. Public Perspectives © Ipsos 2018 |
60%
60%
68%
Worldwide
Canada
US
59%
51%
55%
6
Most Canadians question whether the average person actually cares about the facts; a slight majority
think they know more than others
The average person in my country doesn’t
care about facts about politics and society
anymore, they just believe what they want.
I am confident I have a better understanding
of social realities like immigration levels and
crime rates than the average person in my
country.
[% Strongly/somew hat agree]

7. Public Perspectives © Ipsos 2018 |
Millennials and lower income more likely to say they live in a bubble, but still only a minority.
Men, higher income somewhat more confident in their abilities to spot fake news
32% 29%
38%
31%
24%
41%
30% 28% 32% 32% 28% 30% 33%
22%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Men Women Millennial Gen X Boomer Lower $ Mid $ Higher $ BC Alta Prairies Ontario Quebec Atlantic
I live in my own bubble on the internet, mostly connectingwith people like myself and looking foropinions I already agree with.
I am confident that I can tell real news from ‘fake news’ (entirely made up stories or facts).
67%
60% 63% 66% 63% 64% 63%
68% 66% 65% 65% 63% 63% 66%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Men Women Millennial Gen X Boomer Lower $ Mid $ Higher $ BC Alta Prairies Ontario Quebec Atlantic
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FAKE NEWS EXPOSURE AND MEANING
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Half of Canadians say they have seen fake news stories, significantly lower than in the US and most
other countries
How often, if at all,
do you think you see
stories where news
organisations have
deliberately said
something that isn’t
true?
[% Very/fairly often]
60%
82%
79%
79%
77%
73%
72%
72%
71%
69%
68%
66%
65%
61%
59%
59%
57%
54%
54%
51%
51%
49%
48%
44%
43%
39%
36%
30%
Worldwide
Argentina
Serbia
Turkey
Mexico
Brazil
India
Peru
Hungary
Malaysia
South Africa
Chile
Poland
US
Italy
Russia
Australia
France
Great Britain
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Belgium
Canada
Sweden
China
South Korea
Japan
Germany

10. Public Perspectives © Ipsos 2018 |
46%
48%
48%
US
Canada
Worldwide
10
About half of Canadians say they have actuallybelieved a fake news story
I have falsely believed a news story was real until I found out
it was fake
[% Strongly/somew hat agree]

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36%
46%
51%
44%
46%
56%
56%
58%
62%
Worldwide
Canada
US
11
Canadians associate fake news with stories where the facts are wrong, but many also associate it with
selective facts and as a discrediting term
Stories where the facts are
wrong
Stories where the news outlets or
politicians only pick facts that
support their side of the argument
A term politicians and the
media use to discredit news
they don’t agree with
When you hear the term “fake news”, what are you personally thinking of?
[% Yes]

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TRUST, BIAS, AND BLAME
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Canadians spread the blame for misperceptions on personal bias, politicians, and the media/social media
People have a biased view of the world,
i.e., they tend to focus on negative things or
think things are getting worse, or generalise
from their own experience
Politicians mislead people The media misleads people
People often get lots of things wrong about their countries and how they’re changing, for example, what proportion of the pop ulation
are immigrants, or whether crime is going up or down. Which of these, if any, do you think are the biggest reasons for this? [% Yes]
52%
52%
64%
52%
52%
64%
43%
55%
57%
Worldwide
Canada
US
Social media misleads people
People are bad with numbers so they
struggle with trying to estimate things
like this
It’s often the figures that are
wrong, not people’s views
52%
52%
64%
Worldwide
Canada
US
18%
12%
12%
18%
16%
16%

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A majority in Canada believe that the average person trusts politicians less today than in the past, driven by a belief that
lying in politics and the media is more prevalent today; US is significantly more skeptical than Canada
Do you think the average person
in my country trusts politicians to
tell the truth more, less or about
the same amount as they did 30
years ago?
Do you think there is more, less or
about the same amount of lying and
misuse of facts in politics and media in
my country than there was 30 years
ago?
Do you think the average person in
my country knows more, less or
about the same amount about
politics and society as they did 30
years ago?
10%
12%
9%
64%
57%
69%
Worldwide
Canada
US
57%
53%
69%
11%
7%
4%
39%
29%
32%
30%
33%
37%
More Less

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METHODOLOGY
• These are the findings of a Global Advisor survey into the political mood around the world. In total 19,243 interviews were
conducted online between June 22 – July 6 2018 among adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and adults aged 16-64 in all
other countries.
• The survey was conducted in 27 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. The countries reporting herein a re
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan,
Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United
States of America.
• Between 500 and 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos Online Panel. The sample was 1000+
in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United Stated of America. In all other
countries the sample was 500+. The precision of Ipsos online polls is calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000
accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on Ipsos’ use of
credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.
• In countries where internet penetration is approximately 60% or higher the data output generally reflects the overall populat ion. Of
the 27 countries surveyed online, 16 yield results that are balanced to reflect the general population: Argentina, Australia,
Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain and the
United States. The 11 remaining countries surveyed – Brazil, China, Chile, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
South Africa and Turkey - have lower levels of internet connectivity and reflect online populations that tend to be more urban and
have higher education/income than the general population.
• Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't knows or not
stated responses.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
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mike.colledge@ipsos.com sean.simpson@ipsos.com
Mike Colledge
President, Canadian Public Affairs
Sean Simpson
Vice President, Public Affairs