An annual news report suggests that more media literacy education is required among older Australians.

There needs to be an increase in media literacy education for adult and senior Australians if they are to avoid falling for real “fake news”.

According to Digital News Report: Australia 2025 (produced by the University of Canberra each year as part of a worldwide survey), people with news literacy education have higher trust in news (53%) than those without (41%).

University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President, Bill Shorten, said this year’s report shows an increasing generational divide in terms of people’s acceptance of news and information.

“Younger Australians don’t stop at just having a healthy scepticism of the information they are served. According to this year’s DNR, they fact check,” he said.

“On the other hand, older generations, having had barely any news literacy education, are at risk of falling prey to the real ‘fake news’. This data is a clarion call to address the vulnerability of our adult and senior populations through increased media literacy education.”

This year’s report said that the recent federal election provided further evidence about the fragmentation of Australia’s media environment and the extent that people are turning to podcasts, influencers and digital-first publishers for their news and information.

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