Climate crisis is the biggest threat in 19 countries, but not in the US

Nearly three in four people in 19 countries believe that disinformation on the internet is a “major threat”, says a recent Pew Research Center survey.

Interviewers asked 24,525 people from 19 countries with advanced economies to assess the severity of the following threats: climate change, the spread of infectious diseases, online disinformation, cyber attacks from other countries, and the state of the global economy.

Climate change was the top-voted concern in most countries, with a median of 75% of respondents saying the phenomenon is a major threat to their country. The spread of false information was close behind, with a median of 70% considering it a major threat.

The findings add to those of another survey Pew released this year, focusing on the United States. It showed online disinformation roughly tied with cyberattacks as Americans’ top concern — about 7 in 10 people said both were major threats.

In sharp contrast to the other countries where the survey was conducted, the United States ranked climate change as the least threat among the suggested options.

After several years of misinformation about elections and the coronavirus pandemic, 70% of Americans now believe that fake news spread over the internet is a major threat. Another 26% consider it a minor threat, and only 2% say it is not a threat.

The findings place the US among the countries most concerned about virtual disinformation. Germans were the most concerned, with 75% of them saying the issue is a major threat. Only 42% of Israelis rated the issue that way, the lowest rate among the countries surveyed.

Democrats and more educated people are the most likely to classify fake news as a major threat. Republicans and those less educated are less likely to regard it as such.

Among Americans who voted for former President Donald Trump in past presidential elections, 66% said fake news is a major threat compared to 78% of voters who supported President Joe Biden.

Researchers warned sources before the interviews that people with less education and in more vulnerable positions — because of low income or poor health, for example — are more likely to share and believe false information.

Around the world, young people are less concerned about misinformation than their older peers. This finding is in line with previous research showing that this age group is less likely to share misinformation online and more confident in identifying lies on social media.

Jacob Poushter, associate director of global attitudes research at Pew, suggests that older people tend to place greater importance on technological threats than on issues such as infectious diseases or economic crises.