New European Study Highlights Concerns Over Online Fake News and Democracy

• 4 in 10 Europeans concerned about threat of fake news content on democracy

• More than half of Europeans say trust growing in traditional media as a result

• Calls for automatic detection and regulation to combat AI fakes and disinformation

European citizens are calling for greater safeguards to manage the impact of online fake news and disinformation on democracy, according to a new Vodafone Institute study conducted by Kantar.

While confidence in European democracy remains high, Europeans are increasingly concerned about the prevalence of disinformation on social media during elections and are elevating their trust in traditional media.

The study - Democracy in the Age of AI - asked more than 12,000 citizens across 12 European countries about their perceptions of the impact of AI-created content, on democratic processes, media trust, and political engagement.

The results highlighted both opportunities and challenges with the integrity of online information and its impact on democratic institutions:

Trust in traditional media is growing:  Despite strong use of digital platforms, 53% of Europeans say that the importance of editorial reporting has increased for them due to growing concerns about fake news.

Fake news seen as a challenge: Fake news is widely recognised by Europeans as a significant and persistent challenge. More than one in four (27%) said they encountered fake news very or extremely frequently in recent months. This figure rises to 38% among younger respondents and drops to 16% for over 64s.

Concerns about social media manipulation and disinformation:  While half of the respondents (49%) have used AI tools like ChatGPT at least once for political topics, only 30% believe that the benefits of AI outweigh its risks.

When it comes to democracy, opinions are similarly divided: around a third (32%) believe AI offers more opportunities than dangers, while 39% see AI as a threat

54% of people are worried about the origin of content, especially on social media. 24% are saying they have encountered AI-generated content in domestic election campaigns.

To combat fake news generated by AI, citizens have called for safeguards. Traditional media (45%), AI detectors (43%) and state regulation (41%) were identified as the three most wanted ways to achieve this.

Democracy important for Europeans:  Democracy continues to be highly valued across Europe, with 75% of respondents saying it is very or extremely important to them. However, satisfaction with how democracy functions is relatively low, just 22% are very or extremely satisfied with the way their own democracy operates.

Satisfaction with democratic principles is highest in the UK and lowest in Hungary. Citizens strongly support free speech, even when it may threaten democratic principles. But they draw a clear line at hate speech and deceptive AI-generated content, endorsing European regulation like the DSA and AI Act that is designed to tackle it.

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Group Chief External & Corporate Affairs officer said:

“Europeans are sending a clear signal they want stronger safeguards against fake news, recognising that AI can increase the risk of manipulation and disinformation. Europe wants to exploit the power of AI for good.

“But adoption of any technology, and certainly AI, ultimately depends on trust. So this survey comes as a reminder that our ability to capture the benefits of AI will only be as good as our ability to put the guardrails in place to mitigate its risks, and address citizens’ legitimate concerns.”

The full Democracy in the Age of AI study can be viewed here: democracy-in-the-age-of-ai.pdf

ENDS

About the Study

Democracy in the Age of AI – A Representative Study on Perceptions and Expectations of Citizens in 12 European Countries was commissioned by the Vodafone Institute and conducted by Kantar. A representative sample of 12,086 people aged 18 and over from twelve European countries were interviewed online between 24 February and 1 April 2025

The study was quota based to be representative of the online population in terms of age and gender, surveying people in Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Estonia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

About Vodafone Institute

The Vodafone Institute for Society and Communication is Vodafone’s European think tank. With our work, we contribute to thinking about the digital transformation of economy and society together. Together with our partners, we develop studies on pressing issues to show ways for our digital future. As a think tank, we operate at the interface of business, politics, science, and civil society.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone-institut.de/en/

About Vodafone Group

Vodafone is a leading European and African telecoms company.

We serve over 360 million mobile and broadband customers, operating networks in 15 countries with investments in a further five and partners in over 40 more. We have capacity on more than 70 subsea cable systems – the backbone of the internet – and we are developing a new direct-to-mobile satellite communications service to connect areas without coverage. Vodafone runs one of the world’s largest IoT platforms, with over 220 million IoT connections globally, and we provide financial services to around 94 million customers across seven African countries – managing more transactions than any other provider.

From the seabed to the stars, Vodafone’s purpose is to keep everyone connected.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com follow us on X at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.