TikTok users in Germany more susceptible to Russian and Chinese misinformation, says report

euronews (in English)

TikTok users and young people in Germany are significantly less suspicious and have a more favourable view of Moscow and Beijing, according to the study, which flags it as a concern ahead of Germany's upcoming elections.

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00:00German tiktokers are more susceptible to Russian and Chinese misinformation.

00:09Young Germans who use TikTok are more likely to be climate skeptics, be less critical of

00:14Russia's invasion of Ukraine and believe that the Chinese political system is better than democracy,

00:20according to a new study. The liberal politics Friedrich Naumann Foundation,

00:24which commissioned the study, said that it shows how disinformation narratives and

00:28foreign propaganda are impacting Germany ahead of its federal elections in February. For example,

00:33it found that 42% of those under 29 doubt that Russia is deliberately spreading false information

00:40compared to 30% of all respondents. Around 50% of TikTok users doubt that Russia is spreading

00:46fake news. The figure stands at 59% for China. This shows that TikTok users are significantly

00:52less suspicious and have a more favorable view of Moscow and Beijing, according to the study,

00:57which was carried out by the Allensbach Institute. Looking at particular disinformation narratives

01:01appears to confirm this. Some 78% of all respondents agree that Russia is waging an

01:07illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, but this figure falls to 69.7% among under 29s.

01:14It falls further still for TikTok users, 66% when it comes to China, while 81% of Germans in general

01:21believe China is a dictatorship, 67% of those under 29 do. Around a third of TikTokers believe

01:28China is not a dictatorship. Nearly 30% of Germans believe that China's authoritarian system is more

01:34efficient than Western democracies, according to the study, which jumps to 42% for TikTok users.

01:41And when looking at climate change, only 64% of respondents and 67% of young people believe

01:47human activity causes climate change. For TikTok users, the figure is just over half.

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