PERCEPTION OF TRUTHFULNESS AND MISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the susceptibility to social media disinformation within a young group of university students from the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí (ULEAM), El Carmen Extension. A mixed-methods approach with quantitative predominance, and a non-experimental descriptive design was employed, using a convenience sampling method ($n=38$). Data collection was carried out through the Fake News Discrimination Test (Meza Cano et al., 2022) to assess the classification of exposed headlines extracted from Facebook and Twitter (now X). The evaluation utilized a dichotomous scale and was complemented by a qualitative section. The results demonstrated heterogeneity in the perception of veracity; specifically, 40% of the participants accepted false information as true, whereas only 12.5% displayed initial distrust. Furthermore, 40% of the responses relied on prior associations lacking any solid evidence, indicating consistent patterns when discerning received information. In conclusion, the study determines that susceptibility to disinformation among the university population is linked to the influence of prior beliefs and exposure to social media content. Therefore, it is recommended to strengthen critical thinking and develop strategies, such as media literacy, to mitigate vulnerability to disinformation on social networks