By Dr Helena Ivanov and Dr Theo Zenou

The kids are not alright.

It’s tough being a university student these days. The job market for graduates is bleak, and the cost of living crisis is hitting students particularly hard.

If that isn’t bad enough, add the fact that this new generation is coming of age in an era characterised by wide-scale disinformation.

In recent years, social media platforms – from TikTok to X – have become mired in fake news. Anti-vax content, racist, sexist and antisemitic speech, bonkers fabrications: you name it, it’s online somewhere.

Gen Z should be able to spot truth from lies better than anyone else. After all, they are “digital natives” who have spent a larger portion of their lives on social media than anyone else.

And yet, according to a poll of 500 university students conducted by Dataquest Analytics for the Henry Jackson Society, even they are struggling.

Fewer than 1 in 10 students surveyed have never fallen for disinformation. Worryingly, nearly 17% say they have often believed something that turned out to be false, and another 47% say it has happened a few times.

This matters. Being duped by fake news is not without consequences. It impacts what we believe, who we vote for and, ultimately, how we lead our lives.

Take anti-vaxx conspiracy theories. They claim vaccines are........

© LBC