Oct 23, 2024 - Election

Portlanders fear misinformation ahead of election, survey shows

Illustration of a speech bubble wearing a disguise amongst a crowd of other speech bubbles. — Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

Portlanders are wary of fake news and misinformation this election season, according to survey data published Wednesday from SmartNews, a free news aggregation app.

Why it matters: Their fears come at a time when artificial intelligence is making it easier to spread election lies, and many Americans, including educated elites, find themselves in a gullibility crisis.

The concerns also underscore the need for reliable, trustworthy information from news outlets, political candidates, campaigns and social media.

By the numbers: 81% of Portland residents surveyed worry about attempts to dupe voters in the heat of this historic election, SmartNews figures show.

51% report being "extremely" concerned.
Both figures fall below the national averages of 85% and 58%, respectively.

Zoom in: Portlanders spend an average of one hour and 46 minutes daily consuming news, 16 minutes less than the national average, per SmartNews data.

72 of those minutes are spent reading traditional media, while 34 minutes are on social media.
54% of Portlanders trust traditional media, while only 15% trust social media sources.

What they did: SmartNews gathered responses online through SurveyMonkey between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, polling:

1,000 adults nationally (±3% margin of error).
400 respondents in each of the 10 metro areas, including Portland (±5% margin of error).

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Portlanders fear misinformation ahead of election, survey shows

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