YouTube the Major Source of Fake News for Internet Users in Nepal
According to a survey, most internet users in Nepal receive false information. According to a survey conducted by the Center for Media Research (CMR) Nepal, 95.5 percent of the Internet users said that fake information was found on social media, especially YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
This is shown by the response given by the users participating in the Nepal Twitter User Survey 2019 conducted by the Center in November 2019.
"The results are not surprising, but the access of fake information to almost all Internet users should be taken seriously," said Rishikesh Dahal, president of the Center. He also added, "Stakeholders should not delay in formulating effective and multifaceted plans to help the general public get rid of fake and accurate information."
Social media is a major source of false information:
According to the CMR, 95.5 percent of the respondents in the survey found false information while using the internet in the past one week, and 4.5 percent of those who did not find false information at the same time.
The survey found that YouTube was the main source of misinformation for many Nepalese. Eighty-five percent of those who received false information said they saw false information on YouTube. The survey claims that the fact that YouTube users in Nepal are exaggerating the issue and even giving false information to make money by making their channel popular has been confirmed to some extent by the survey.
The survey has shown that after YouTube, false information is also spread through Facebook and Twitter. More than two-thirds received false information from Facebook and more than half from Twitter, according to the CMR. Seventeen percent said they received false information from other websites and very few from newspapers.
