MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. Half of Russians surveyed (49%) believe that the Internet is filled with a lot of unreliable and harmful information that cannot be controlled, says a poll from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) published on the organization’s website.
"Today, five out of ten (49%) Russians consider the Internet to be an uncontrolled space with a lot of unreliable and harmful information. But 38% hold the opposite judgment: 'the Internet is a powerful resource for obtaining prompt and reliable information.' In Moscow and St. Petersburg every second person thinks so," the report says.
According to the survey, about half of respondents (48%) believe that the Internet is equal parts good and bad. However, over the past year, Russians have begun to see more benefits from the Internet. In April 2023, 31% gave this answer, and in 2024 this figure has increased by 5 percentage points to reach 36%. "The main 'defenders' of the World Wide Web are active Internet users. They are 1.5 times more likely to see it as more useful (56% vs. 36% for the sample) and 1.4 times more likely to call it a powerful resource for obtaining prompt and reliable information (54% vs. 38%) than ordinary people," the survey results say.
According to the survey, more than half of respondents (53%) do not consider the Internet to be a source of any danger. However, four out of ten Russians (40%) admit to some extent that the Internet poses a threat to them or their families.
The All-Russian Internet poll was conducted on April 26, 2024. It polled 1,600 Russians aged 18 years and older. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% with a probability of 95%.