CONSUMERS' PERCEPTION ON FAKE NEWS

Social media networks have changed the way individuals communicate with each other. One of the new features of the communication on social media networks is the user-generated content. Anyone having a social media account can post any type of information on his social account, having the possibility to disseminate different opinions, feelings or comments. The main disadvantage of the user-generated content is the impossibility to check all the information which appear in the online public space. This development has favoured the appearance of the fake news phenomenon, which has affected many domains of our everyday life. In this paper there are presented the results of a research about the attitude and perception of consumers regarding the appearance of fake news. Most of the respondents are aware of the existence of the fake news phenomenon and most of them consider that the development of social media networks has favoured their appearance. The results also show that many consumers believe that others are more affected by fake news in comparison to themselves. Besides fake news is frequently associated with unknown publications and sensational headlines.