A recent Netskope study has shown that up to half of Britons find it difficult to differentiate AI-fabricated news items and websites, despite prior claims of ability.
501 individuals from the UK took an online quiz created by Netskope to test their ability to distinguish between content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and authentic information.
The regions with the highest failure rates—63.6%, 62.5%, and 61.5%, respectively—were determined to be Greater London, East Midlands, and the North East. At 37.1%, the Southeast was shown to be the most perceptive region when it came to spotting false online information.
Additionally, Netskope outlined the fake news scenario for 2023 with this study. Even while the population in the UK believes that tabloids, newspapers, and video-based platforms like TikTok and Snapchat provide accurate news, 84% of British people said they are confident in their ability to identify fake news.
However, half of the respondents crossed the obstacle when presented with a fictitious AI news piece alongside a genuine one. The Southeast was the most cynical, with 63% correctly recognizing the fake news, while residents of Greater London demonstrated the greatest credulity, with 64% misidentifying the true story.
The study also highlighted the most common fake AI news stories of 2023 to be an image of Pope Francis wearing an enormous white puffy coat; a fake photo of Donald Trump being arrested in downtown Washington DC; and a story claiming an AI drone had killed its human operator were the top three misinformation operations using metrics like social views, engagement, published articles, reach, and authority.
The quick development of AI technology makes it challenging to identify fake news content generated by AI technology. Seeking original sources, using reverse image searches, examining image dimensions for consistency and abnormalities, and keeping an eye on video size and subtitle placements for possible deepfake AI software usage are some of Netskope’s recommendations for telling fact from fiction.
The FactCheckHub has published tutorials on how to identify AI-generated images. You can learn how to here and here.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
