The development of media truth discernment and fake news detection is related to the development of reasoning during adolescence.

ABSTRACT: The spread of online fake news is emerging as a major threat to human society and democracy. Previous studies have investigated media truth discernment among adults but not among adolescents. Adolescents might face a greater risk of believing fake news, particularly fake news that is shared via social media, because of their vulnerabilities in terms of reasoning. In the present study, we investigated (1) the development of media truth discernment and the illusory truth effect from adolescence to adulthood and (2) whether the development of media truth discernment and the illusory truth effect are related to the development of reasoning ability. To accomplish this task, we recruited 432 adolescents aged 11 to 14 years as well as 132 adults. Participants were asked to rate the perceived accu

SUBMITTER: Lemaire M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11865587 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature