Almost a quarter of Americans have shared a fake news story, knowingly or otherwise, according to the results of a new poll.
The Pew Research Center survey found 23 percent of U.S. adults have shared a news story that was false. Fourteen percent shared it knowing it was not true, while 16 percent shared it and later found out it was not real news.
Other key findings:
- 64 percent said fake news has left Americans with a "great deal of confusion" about current events.
- 39 percent said they are very confident they can recognize a fake news story when they see one.
- 32 percent said they often see fake political news stories on the internet.
- 45 percent said politicians, elected officials, and others in the government have "a great deal of responsibility" for preventing the spread of fake news stories.
Fake news has made real headlines in the weeks after last month's presidential election. Some Democrats have said fake news stories posted online contributed to Hillary Clinton's loss.
Reports said at least some of those stories have ties to Russia, which is also suspected of hacking into Democrats' computer systems in an effort, some believe, to help Republican Donald Trump win.
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