Mixed Digital Messages : The ability to determine news credibility among Swedish teenagers

In this study we investigate the abilities to determine credibility of digital news among 532 teenagers. Using an onlinetest we assess to what extent teenagers are able to determine the credibility of different sources, evaluate credible and biased uses of evidence, and corroborate information. Many respondents fail to identify the credibility of false, biased and vetted news. We identify a digital divide between people with and without the ability to determine credibility. We also find that a large proportion of the respondents struggle to identify the source of information in Sweden’s most read online newspaper. Respondents struggle to determine the bias of news reports regarding racism and weight loss, but are better at debunking manipulated images. Respondents who value the importance of credible news and who indicate that they have learned media literacy in school seem to hold a mind-set helping them to determine credibility better than other respondents. Our findings provide a basis for further research of how to better understand and support digital civic literacy in classrooms and society