Children and young people’s views on disinformation: A qualitative study from Portugal

This article aims to analyse the perspectives of children and young people about disinformation and news consumption. Based on the inputs of participants and their own perceptions on the matter we explore how the disinformation phenomenon is present in their daily lives, the different ways they experience and perceive its potential impact on society, as well as strategies adopted to tackle it. The analysis is based on data obtained from 38 focus groups held with 257 children and young people attending sixth (11–13 years old), ninth (14–16 years old) and twelfth (17–20 years old) grades in public schools in mainland Portugal. Results indicated that they have access to news regularly; however, it is not pursued to fulfil a particular purpose. Televised news constitutes the main source of news consumption. News broadcasted on TV are perceived as the most reliable source if compared to online information and social networks, which are considered more susceptible to fake news, although responses indicated that children and youth do not analyse information thoroughly. Disinformation is a relatively familiar issue for a portion of the participants but is seen as neither a problem nor a concern. There is a weak awareness about the impacts and consequences of this phenomenon, although there are differences according to age.