Young Campaign Consumers: How Generation Z Consumes News and Acquires Current Affairs Knowledge
Matthias Van Campenhout
Political Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Margot Lissens, Babette Hermans
Communication Science, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium #ica25

Today, some members of the MIP lab went to the @vrtnws.be as they organised an inspiring event on the fight against misinformation and the role that fact-checkers and news media can play. With wonderful moderation and stimulating thoughts, the day was a great succes!

Trots om in dit veld te kunnen werken, met inspirerende collega’s!

Today, it’s International Fact-Checking Day! In times where social media platforms reject collaborations with them and citizens are concerned about false information, this day feels bittersweet. Let’s celebrate their hard work and mission today!

Day 1 at the #etmaal2025 conference: MIP lab showcased their interesting research from the past year!

1/3 Members of team @michaelopgenhaffen.bsky.social mostly focused on factchecking and political content on social media! 🔍 @catowaeterloos.bsky.social @ferrewouters @babettehermans.bsky.social

Mere exposure to fact-checks does not improve contested issue knowledge (sometimes even the oppposite), but reading fact-checks does. Interesting findings from @babettehermans.bsky.social from @miplab.bsky.social at #etmaal2025

Jongeren scoren beter op politieke kennis na Jongerenstemtest van VRT NWS
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...

Read the full piece (in Dutch) that I wrote with @catowaeterloos.bsky.social and @michaelopgenhaffen.bsky.social here: www.knack.be/nieuws/werel...

While these changes are only applicable to the US for now, many fact-checkers around the world will feel the consequences. And though the practicalities are damaging itself for public safety, the narrative that the change was wrapped in carries even more danger with it.

By calling the fact-checkers “politically biased” he reinforces and normalises a (mostly right-wing) narrative that soon-to-be president Trump has proclaimed for some time. With the inauguration in sight, this announcement seems to be a clear knee-fall for the new president.

Especially this last point is one that Zuckerberg repeatedly makes. Not only will many fact-checkers in the US lose important funding, but with taking away their jobs, he simultaneously stripped them from their credibility.

Zuckerberg equates fact-checking to content moderation, which is incorrect. While content moderation is focused on removing harmful opinions and content, fact-checks only flag content that is false. Equating it to the former is a harmful dialogue that frames fact-checking as a danger to free speech.

Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will stop collaborating with fact-checkers on its platforms. Besides the practicalities, the tone of the message was equally concerning. In our opinion piece for Knack, we discussed the implications. Here are some of our key thoughts🧵