Most Adults in 25 Countries Say Spread of False Information Is a Top National Threat
Adults in 25 countries consider the economy, terrorism, and the spread of false information online to be the major threats that the world faces today, according to a new survey published Wednesday.
“In seven countries—Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea—more people view the spread of false information as a threat than any other issue asked about,” the Pew Research Center said. “Germans and Poles, who voted in competitive national elections within the last year, see this as the top threat by a considerable margin.”
The findings come from Pew’s seventh iteration of its Global Attitudes Survey: International Opinion on Global Threats, which was last published in 2022. Since that time, adults around the world are less concerned about climate change and the spread of infectious diseases and are more concerned about false information, terrorism, and the state of the global economy.
“Overall, a median of 72 percent of adults across 25 nations surveyed in spring 2025 say that the spread of false information online is a major threat to their country,” Pew said. “A further 21 percent say it is a minor threat, while 5 percent say it is not a threat at all.”
False Information
Most adults in 24 of the 25 countries surveyed said that they see the spread of false information online as a major threat. The only country where it’s not a top challenge? Israel, where just 43 percent of adults hold this view, according to Pew.
Age and ideology can also play a role in how people perceive the threat of false information online. Pew researchers found that in many countries, people who are 50 years of age and older are more likely to view the spread of false information as a major threat, except for in Brazil and Turkey where older adults are less likely than those 18 to 34 years in age to be worried about the threat.
Median percentage of adults who say each of the following is a ______ to their country.
|
Threat |
Major Threat |
Minor Threat |
Not a Threat |
|
The spread of false information online |
72% |
21% |
5% |
|
The condition of the global economy |
70% |
27% |
4% |
|
Terrorism |
69% |
26% |
6% |
|
Global climate change |
67% |
24% |
9% |
|
The spread of infectious diseases |
60% |
30% |
5% |
Pew also found that adults who self-identify as being on the ideological left were more likely to say they are concerned about misinformation than those who identify as being on the right.
“Some of the biggest differences are in Germany and the U.S.,” Pew said. “For example, 82 percent of liberal Americans say the spread of false information on the Internet is a major threat, compared with 60 percent of conservatives.”
In Germany, 55 percent of adults with a favorable view of Alternative for Germany (AfD)—a right-wing populist party—said the “spread of false information is a major threat, compared with 89 percent of those who have an unfavorable view of AfD,” Pew explained.
One of the key areas where the spread of false information poses a high risk is during and after a natural disaster. Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that "popular social media platforms' algorithms often amplify mis- and disinformation during natural disasters, which can sideline life-saving information," according to previous Security Management coverage.
The Economy
Seventy percent of adults now view the condition of the global economy as a major threat. Adults in Greece and Australia rated the issue as their top concern.
“Concerns about the world economy are generally tied to views of national economic conditions,” Pew explained. “In 23 countries, people with a more negative view of their nation’s economy are more likely to say that the condition of the global economy is a major threat.”
The change has been most acute in Germany, where the portion of adults who said the state of the global economy is a major threat rose 38 percent. It was closely followed by Canada, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Poland, which all saw increases of 30 points or more in adults’ perception of this threat.
These concerns align with the rising risk that inequality posed in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, which was published in January 2025 to align with the new year.
“While not ranked in the top five specific risks, the report’s authors found that inequality—which includes wealth and income—was considered the most central and interconnected risk of all those discussed in their research, in part because it could trigger and influence other risks,” according to Security Management’s previous coverage.
Terrorism
Close behind concern about the economy is terrorism. Sixty-nine percent of adults said they view terrorism as a major threat, with adults in India, Israel, Nigeria, and Turkey ranking it as their top threat issue.
“In Israel, concerns about terrorism especially outweigh concerns about the other issues,” Pew said. “And Jewish Israelis are far more likely than Arab Israelis to see terrorism as a major threat to their country (96 percent versus 71 percent),” according to Pew. “The survey was fielded about a year and a half after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.”
Looking elsewhere, fewer Americans and Australians are identifying terrorism as a top trend—a drop of 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively, since surveyed in March 2020.
The economy also plays a role in how people perceive the threat of terrorism. Pew found that adults in middle-income countries—Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and Turkey in the survey—tend to see terrorism as a more significant threat than those who live in high-income countries.
Older adults also expressed higher concerns about terrorism, along with people who have less education or who identified as part of the ideological right.
Pew identified that adults in 15 nations who identify as on the ideological right are more concerned about the threat terrorism poses.
“Almost half of right-leaning Australians (47 percent) say terrorism is a major threat,” Pew explained. “This is more than double the share of left-leaning Australians (20 percent) who takes this stance. Similarly in Canada, roughly half of those on the right (49 percent) and a similar share of those in the center (46 percent) see terrorism as a major threat, compared with about a quarter of those on the left (28 percent).”
Pew also tracked a trend in adults who expressed support for right-wing populist parties and their views on terrorism. In Europe, supporters of these parties were more likely than nonsupporters to rate terrorism as a higher threat to their country.
“For example, French adults with a favorable view of the right-wing National Rally party are more likely than those with an unfavorable view of the party to call terrorism a major threat,” Pew said. “This is also the case among supporters and nonsupporters of AfD, Fidesz in Hungary, Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy (FdI), Party for Freedom (PVV) in The Netherlands, Vox in Spain, Sweden Democrats, and Reform UK.”
Pew conducted the survey in the spring of 2025 using a mix of telephone, in-person, and online interviews of adults in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
