PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISINFORMATION ACTIVITIES AMONG STUDENTS OF MEDIA CLASSES AT THE UNIVERSITÀ DI PARMA - A PRELIMINARY STUDY
PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISINFORMATION ACTIVITIES AMONG STUDENTS OF MEDIA CLASSES AT THE UNIVERSITÀ DI PARMA - A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to draw attention to the practices and attitudes towards disinformation adopted by students of selected fields of study related to information and media at the Università di Parma. The research was conducted using a diagnostic survey method on a group of 120 people (research sample 60%). The students surveyed are daily users of the internet. A high percentage of respondents declared that they verify information found online, although a significant percentage of the respondents did not pay attention to verification, did not answer this question or clearly declared that they did not do so. For them, the factors influencing the credibility of information were a credible source, endorsement by an authority and the lack of bias in the presentation of facts. The students declared that they had encountered disinformation content. The most common examples of this include fake news, false visual and audiovisual content and trolling. According to the respondents, the main purpose of disinformation was to mislead public opinion, driven by various motives. A small percentage of the respondents believed that disinformation may cause negative attitudes towards other nations. Unsurprisingly, a large part of the surveyed group had encountered disinformation about vaccinations or climate change. A significant percentage had also encountered content related to the war in Ukraine, 5G technology, refugees, the flat Earth theory, abortion, as well as ethnic and national minorities. Students pointed to Russia as the main actor on the disinformation scene. It should also be noted that the United States, China and Israel received high ratings, while Italy received one of the lowest. The respondents believed that the greatest threats from disinformation on the internet were the destabilization of the political and social situation, accompanied by a decrease in national security, while identifying it as one of the least threatening factors. 70% of them believed that it increased the abilities of recipients in the process of verifying information.

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