66% of Sinhala news consumers encounter false or misleading information: LIRNEasia study

A recent national survey conducted by LIRNEasia, a regional policy think tank, reveals that over 80% of Sinhala news consumers in Sri Lanka aged 18 and above actively share news with others. 66% of respondents reported having encountered false or misleading information in the recent past. Out of those who share information and have received false or misleading information, 56% admitted to having shared false information in the past. Interestingly, nearly half of them claim they did so intentionally to inform others that the news was inaccurate. This sharing is done despite.

The survey, which gathered responses from more than 1,700 randomly selected Sinhala news consumers across the country, highlights growing awareness and concern about the spread of false information. Two-thirds of respondents stated that they verify information before sharing. Many turned to family and friends to verify such information, underscoring the critical role of personal networks in building trust and evaluating credibility.

In-depth interviews conducted after the survey revealed diverse strategies Sinhala news consumers use to assess the trustworthiness of information. “I check whether the post was made by a verified page. If I doubt it, I go to the official page or search for proof,” said Umadevi, a 23-year-old from Kalutara. Another interviewee shared, “There are people who create fake pages during elections… so I always check first.” Others read the comments section of web articles to make up their mind

In addition to the survey, LIRNEasia conducted an experimental study to test the effectiveness of different interventions or solutions that are generally seen as helping counter misinformation. Over 800 participants from the Eastern, Western, and Southern provinces were exposed to one of five interventions: an in-person training, an educational video, an online game, a fact-checking WhatsApp groups, and a fact-checking websites. Before and after the interventions, participants ability to identify misinformation was checked by asking them to assess the truthfulness of 40 cue cards containing a mix of true, mostly true, mostly false and false information across three topics: economic news, climate-related news and ethno-religious news.

While all interventions contributed to some improvement in the ability to identify false information, the gains were modest. Among them, in-person training sessions and educational videos showed the most promise. In-person training proved particularly effective among rural participants and those aged 46-65, while educational videos were more impactful among women than men. Surprisingly, ability to detect climate-related misinformation did not improve after any of the interventions.

“These findings reinforce the need for misinformation countermeasures that are tailored to specific demographic groups,” said LIRNEasia Researcher Isuru Samaratunga, during the release of the findings.

“Most of the improvements only improved people’s ability to identify misinformation marginally. So we need to think about how we spend limited money on interventions with the highest potential. But not doing anything is not an option. Our control group which did not go through any of the interventions continued to get worse, becoming worse at detecting misinformation over the period of the experiment,” said LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya.

The study results were officially presented at an event held in Colombo on 3 July, featuring panel discussions with leading academics, journalists, and civil society representatives.