7 in 10 people sometimes doubt the truth of information seen online

© ANP / JEFFREY GROENEWEG
In 2025, 72 percent of people in the Netherlands say they have seen or read information online that they believed to be untrue. That compares to 67 percent in 2023 and 63 percent in 2021. People are more likely to doubt the information they see on social media than information on news websites. Scepticism about the accuracy of information on social media has increased over the past four years. This is according to the survey on ICT usage by households and individuals aged 12 years and over, conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

People aged 25-44 years are the most sceptical

People aged 25-44 years are the most likely to doubt the accuracy of information seen or read online, at 84 percent; those aged 65 years and above have the fewest doubts, at 48 percent. However, scepticism in this older age group has increased by the most: in 2021, 36 percent reported doubting the accuracy of information they had seen online.


Men are more likely than women to doubt the accuracy of information seen online: 76 percent compared to 68 percent (2025). In addition, people with a college or university education are more sceptical (83 percent) than those whose highest level of education is primary education or prevocational secondary education/VMBO (59 percent).

Most people check online information when they are unsure

Among respondents who reported doubting the accuracy of information seen or read online, 68 percent said they check whether or not the information is accurate. This is more common among men, among those aged 12- 44 years, and among those with a college or university education. Women, those aged 65 years and over and those whose highest level of education is primary education or VMBO are the least likely to check.

More than 80 percent of the respondents who said they check the accuracy of information say that they look for more information online, while around half say they check the source of the information. Around 30 percent say they discuss the information with other people offline, or look for more information offline.

Reasons for not checking the accuracy of information

People who do not check potentially inaccurate information are most likely to say that this is because they already know that the information or source is unreliable (65 percent). Around 20 percent say that they do not know how to check the accuracy of information and just under 10 percent say that they find it too difficult.

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