Adobe Study Reveals U.S. Consumers Demand Robust Misinformation Safeguards Ahead of 2024 Presidential Election

• New Adobe study finds that majority of U.S. consumers are concerned about misinformation in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election
• To protect themselves against misinformation, most consumers want to know how the content they consume online is created or edited
• Consumers acknowledge reducing or stopping their use of specific social media platforms due to the prevalence of misinformation

SAN JOSE, Calif.- Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) today released the findings of its Authenticity in the Age of AI Study, which surveyed over 2,000 U.S. consumers on their perception and experience with misinformation online in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. As part of its commitment to responsible innovation, including fostering a more trustworthy and transparent digital ecosystem with Content Credentials, Adobe commissioned the study to understand how public sentiment on the threat of misinformation has shifted as the U.S. presidential election approaches. The study also explores consumer attitudes toward AI-edited content and the increasing importance of provenance tools and solutions to maintain trust during major news moments and global events.

"The proliferation of misinformation has eroded public trust. Without a way for to verify the authenticity of digital content, we're approaching a breaking point where the public will no longer believe the things they see and hear online, even when they are true," said Jace Johnson, Vice president, Global Public Policy at Adobe. "Voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election has begun, and with several weeks to go, there's ample time for misinformation to spread, which could have a profound impact on democracy. Now more than ever, we need widespread adoption of tools like Content Credentials - a 'nutrition label' for digital content to give the public verifiable information about what they see online before they place their trust in it."

Key findings of the study include:

Leading up to the U.S. presidential election, most consumers are perceiving an increase in election-related misinformation, with nearly half admitting that they have recently been misled or believed false information.

• Most people (94%) are concerned that the spread of misinformation will impact the upcoming election.
• With deepfake concerns dominating headlines, 85% of respondents said they believe that election-related misinformation has increased in the past three months.
• Nearly half of respondents (44%) reported being misled or believing election-related misinformation in the past three months and 43% are now less likely to trust election content online, highlighting the urgent need for tools like Content Credentials that can help discern what's true online.
• 83% of respondents are concerned about the potential threat of foreign interference in the upcoming election.

The rise in AI-generated content has heightened skepticism around the trustworthiness of online content, even from reputable sources, leading to a tipping point where most consumers demand transparency about how the content they consume online has been created or edited.

• 87% of respondents said that the rise of generative AI has made it more challenging to discern fact from fiction online.
• And this uncertainty has corroded trust in digital content across the board, with nearly three-quarters (74%) of consumers saying they have doubted the authenticity of photos or videos on reputable news sites.
• In response to the growing difficulty, 93% of consumers believe that it is important to understand how digital content that they consume has been created or edited.

Consumers want robust safeguards against misinformation and believe that providing attribution details (such as creator name, creation date, editing steps used including use of AI) to online content is essential for cutting through the noise and determining what is trustworthy.

• During major news events or global crises, 90% of respondents said they would like to see attribution details attached to the online content.
• 95% of respondents said they believe it is important to see attribution details attached to election-related content to help them factcheck the information themselves.
• 78% of respondents believe that having attribution details on official election content would enhance their trust in its authenticity.
• 68% of respondents are interested in being able to attach attribution details to content they capture with their smartphone or smart device, 87% of which said they would want the option to have that information displayed when they share their content publicly (for example, on social media).

Consumers are demanding stronger action from government leaders and social media platforms to take decisive action to combat the spread of misinformation, with nearly half cutting back their use of certain social media platforms due to its prevalence.

• 48% of respondents said they have stopped or curtailed use of a specific social media platform due to the amount of misinformation on it (representing a 23% increase from March).
• 89% of respondents believe social media platforms should enforce stricter measures to prevent misinformation on their platforms.
• 74% of respondents feel that the U.S. government is not doing enough to protect people from online misinformation.
• 69% of respondents support the attachment of attribution details to digital content on official government websites to help increase transparency.

Methodology

Adobe collaborated with Advanis to collect 2,002 responses from U.S.; all survey respondents were 18 and older. Data was collected from an opt-in non-probability sample provider in August.

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Adobe
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