False Info Perceived as True by Many Voters in Japan Election: Survey

Tokyo, Feb. 18 (Jiji Press)--False information spread during the campaign for the Feb. 8 general election in Japan was perceived as true by about 80 pct of voters who encountered it, according to a university survey.

The online survey was conducted by Toyo University professor Morihiro Ogasawara from the night of Feb. 8 to Feb. 10. It covered 1,800 voters aged between 18 and 79, and received valid responses from 1,793 of them.

“A large amount of false information was spread during the short campaign period, seemingly outpacing the capacity of television and other news media,” Ogasawara said.

Of the respondents, 921, or about half, said they saw or heard any of five confirmed cases of false information.

The false claim that condominium price increases were due to purchases by foreigners for investment purposes was the most widely known, having been seen or heard by around a quarter of all respondents. Of them, 89.6 pct said they believed it was true.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]