THREE in four Spaniards now doubt the truth of what they read online, according to a new report by The Reuters Institute.
The report found that 74% of people in Spain are concerned about fake news online, the highest level recorded in the past four years.
The figure is up five percentage points from 2025 and 12 points higher than in 2022.
According to the report, concern over fake news is rising among groups that had previously reported lower levels of concern, particularly among men and right-leaning voters.
The report highlights that, “The worrying aspect is that this misgiving has begun to spread among population groups that previously considered themselves protected or indifferent to the problem of misinformation.”
In addition, The Reuters Institute warns that the data ‘should not be read as direct proof that Spain has more misinformation, but as evidence that misinformation has taken hold in the public consciousness of Spaniards.’
The report also highlighted that 39% of Spaniards generally distrust the news, while 33% reported that they generally trust the news, representing a two-point increase from last year.
Furthermore, The Reuters Institute found that social media is the primary source of news for 42% of the Spanish population, followed by newspapers.
Meanwhile, 8% of Spanish respondents reported using AI chatbots to access news in the past week, compared to 6% in 2025.
The report paints a picture of a country increasingly reliant on digital sources of information while becoming ever more sceptical of what it reads online.
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