Talend (NASDAQ: TLND), a leader in cloud and big data integration software, commissioned a new international consumer and IT business survey. This survey conducted by Researchscape reveals that 71% of UK consumers agree that ’fake news’ is a growing problem that makes them ‘distrust the news and data that is available publicly’.
According to the survey, US and German citizens are less concerned about fake news. In the US, just 62% see it as a growing problem making them distrust publicly available news and data, and in Germany the corresponding figure is even lower at 58%. Of the four countries surveyed in the research, only France outstrips the UK in this respect with 77% of respondents citing it as a growing problem.
“Donald Trump may have raised the profile of fake news with his pronouncements during the recent presidential election campaign but it is clear that this issue is now high on the agenda across many different countries,” says Patrick Booth, VP UK & Ireland, Talend.
“Fake news is nothing new of course. It’s always been there throughout history in one form or another,” adds Booth. “What’s different today, though, is how much easier it is to spread these kinds of untruths. In the past year, we’ve seen an epidemic hit social media, as fake news websites take over our newsfeeds spreading clickbait and false headlines, based on algorithms and sharing data – and the negative impact of fake news on our culture is steadily increasing.”
“How can we combat fake news? The answer is simple – we need the right data,” he continues. “To get that, it’s crucial that we understand the types of data sources being ingested so that we can classify and evaluate that information. Added to that, we need to put technology in place to ensure data integrity and quality while using big data and artificial intelligence techniques in tandem to confirm the veracity of the data and pinpoint and tackle instances of fake news.”
