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Nearly half of Russians unable to spot fake news, poll reveals

The head of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center said that according to the majority, fake news is often indistinguishable from real reports, and at times can even sound more plausible

KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, June 26. /TASS/. Nearly half of Russians are unable to distinguish real news from fake news, head of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center Valery Fyodorov informed during a round table at the Army-2019 forum.

"The issue of fake news is becoming more relevant, every other Russian admits that they cannot distinguish real information from fake news," Fyodorov said. According to him, 42% of Russians polled admit that they are experiencing difficulties with spotting fake news. "This means that the issue exists and its scale is significant."

The head of the polling center added that according to the majority of Russians surveyed, fake news is often indistinguishable from real reports, and at times can even sound more plausible.

Fyodorov added that the younger population tends to be less critical of news reports, with only 33% noting the difficulty in distinguishing truth from lies, compared to 50% among the senior population. "I think this about the reduced distinguishing ability. The vulnerability is right there," he stressed.