Capacity to Detect Fake News: Its Relationship to the Utilization of Online Platforms of BSED Social Studies Student

The present study investigated the capacity to detect fake news of Social Studies students and if there is a significant relationship between the respondents’ sex, year level, age as well as their utilization of online platforms. This study was conducted only at Notre Dame of Midsayap College, specifically among the BSED Social Studies students during the second semester of the Academic Year 2022-2023. The method used in this study was causal-comparative and correlational research designs with a stratified random sampling technique. The instrument used was a researcher-made questionnaire with 34 randomly selected respondents. Despite the results, the data gathered showed that the respondents have a high capacity to detect fake news because they always check the legitimacy of the article before believing the news, compare the news with those of the more trusted sources, look for evidence that will support the claim of the new, among others. The findings of this study showed that age has a weak direct or positive relationship to the capacity to detect fake news, and that relationship is not significant; that year level has a moderately direct solid or positive relationship to the capacity to detect fake news, and that relationship is highly significant. There is no significant difference in the capacity to detect fake news according to sex. Furthermore, the utilization of online platforms also has no significant relationship with the capacity to detect fake news from the respondents. Finally, there is a very weak inverse or negative relationship between the capacity to detect fake news and the utilization of online platforms.