The Aporia · Social media harms democracy by spreading rumors, survey shows

Social media harms democracy by spreading rumors, survey shows

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The Straits Times. (2026, October 1). Social media harms democracy by spreading rumors, survey shows. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/social-media-harms-democracy-by-spreading-rumors-survey-shows

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Quick Summary

Pew Research Center reported that a growing number of people believe social media harms democracy by spreading rumors and dividing communities. According to the survey, 82% of Australian adults support restrictions on children's access to social media platforms. The study also found that in wealthier countries like the US, Canada, and the UK, there is increased skepticism about the impact of social media on democracy, with 64% of American respondents agreeing that it harms democratic processes. The survey involved over 45,000 people across 37 countries and an additional 5,511 Americans specifically.

Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Pew Research Center reported on October 1 that an increasing number of people view social media as harmful to democracy due to spreading rumors and dividing communities. The survey found 82% of Australian adults support government regulations allowing users to opt out of algorithmic content suggestions, making Australia the first country to ban social media for children under age 16. While many believe social media informs people about politics and provides a voice, there is a growing sentiment that it is detrimental to democracy, particularly in wealthier nations like the US, Canada, and the UK. Companies such as Meta, Snap, and TikTok have faced numerous lawsuits over user harm allegations, leading governments worldwide to seek ways to safeguard citizens' privacy online.

Written for “Social Media And Democracy” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

20%

2 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans left

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

66/100

The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Analyzed 2026-10-01 · how these are computed

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Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

The Straits Times

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All 2834 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Australia Meta Pew Research Center Snap TikTok

Subjects

Australia GPE · 1× Australian NORP · 1× Canada GPE · 1× Ghana GPE · 1× Kenya GPE · 1× Meta ORG · 1× Pew ORG · 1× Pew Research Center ORG · 1× Snap ORG · 1× TikTok ORG · 1×

Narrative

Social media harms democracy by spreading rumors, survey shows Oct 1 - A growing number of people think social media manipulates and divides people and harms democracy, Pew Research Center said on Thursday, echoing rising concern and tighter scrutiny across the world.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01

2026-10-01 · The Straits Times

Social media harms democracy by spreading rumors, survey shows · assertive framing

Claims (10 extracted, 2 hedged)

Center → harm → world

Companies running popular social platforms, including Meta, Snap and TikTok, have faced thousands of lawsuits and paid large sums to settle claims that they harmed users. uncertain

they → run → users

Governments, meanwhile, have sought foolproof ways to protect their citizens’ privacy. asserted

Governments → seek → privacy

Australia has proposed rules to let users opt out of algorithmically recommended feeds, after becoming the first country to ban social media for children under 16. asserted

users → propose → 16

Pew’s latest survey showed that 82% of Australian adults support the government's move to restrict social media access for children. asserted

% → show → children

A majority of respondents said social media informs people and gives them a voice in politics, but there was a broad rise in those who now see social media as a "bad thing" compared to 2022, according to the report. uncertain

who → say → report

People in wealthier countries, including the US, Canada and UK, are more inclined to believe that social media is harming democracy, versus their counterparts in economies with lower gross domestic product per capita — such as Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. asserted

media → include → Ghana

The US is among the most skeptical, with 64% of adult respondents saying social media harms democracy. asserted

media → say → democracy

The share of people who consider social media bad for democracy increased in 16 of 26 countries where older data was available. asserted

data → consider → countries

Pew Research said it surveyed more than 45,000 people in 37 countries, while polling an additional 5,511 US adults on American social media use. asserted

it → say → use