Four in five Americans are concerned misinformation on social media could sway the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, including most Republicans and Democrats, a new survey found Thursday.
The survey, conducted by Gallup for the Knight Foundation, found 81% of U.S. adults polled said they are concerned to some degree about misinformation on social media swaying the White House race.
Nearly half of all respondents — 48% — said they are very concerned about misinformation tilting the race, while one-third — 33% — said they are somewhat concerned, the Knight Foundation reported.
Sixty-two percent of Democrats said they are very concerned about misinformation affecting the election, compared with 36% of Republicans and 40% of independents, according to the foundation.
“However, majorities of Republicans and independents are at least somewhat concerned,” the non-profit organization said in a report summarizing the Gallup survey.
Major social media companies including Facebook and Twitter have previously announced extra steps being taken to limit users from disseminating election-related misinformation on their services.
Indeed, Twitter announced Friday it will begin notifying users before they attempt to share, or retweet, social media posts that violate its rules against misleading information, among other policies.
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