Disinformation on social media: A study through the elderly, "Facebook case"

ABSTRACT GÖNCÜ, Ebru. Disinformation on Social Media: A Study through the Elderly, "Facebook Case". Başkent University, Institute of Social Sciences, Doctorate in Radio, Television and Cinema, 2025. The ability of social media to turn everyone into a content producer and its use as a tool for sharing information, delivering news messages worldwide within seconds, are among its key impacts on the processes of obtaining news and shaping public opinion. However, the uncontrolled nature of social media platforms lays the groundwork for the spread of false/misleading information and leads individuals to perceive unverified news as credible, fostering social media disinformation. This dissertation focuses on evaluating how the elderly's awareness of disinformation regarding news shared on Facebook, the most commonly used social media platform among this demographic globally, differs based on their demographic characteristics. By analyzing two groups—academics and non-academics aged 65 and older—the study employs qualitative discourse analysis to reveal their perceptions. Additionally, the study examines the news content classified by teyit.org, the only representative of Facebook's fact-checking program in Turkey, using descriptive analysis to understand the elderly's awareness of disinformation based on different categories of visual news. Grounded in the continuity theory within aging theories, the research is limited to the period between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, considering the reflections of global and national dynamics on news content. Results indicate that both academic and non-academic elderly individuals primarily perceive disinformation as manipulative or aimed at serving interests. It has been observed that elderly users predominantly engage with Facebook to follow current news, communicate, acquire information, or spend their leisure time. Furthermore, social media contributes to maintaining their daily routines and continuity in social interactions. The findings reveal that non-academic elderly individuals evaluate news messages based on the reliability of the platform and their personal competence, while academic elders' awareness is shaped by their intellectual inquiry and education levels. The study also identifies that differences in the titles, additions, omissions, or content variations within Facebook's visual news messages may lead elderly individuals to perceive the information differently based on their demographic characteristics. To prevent social media disinformation, it is recommended that elderly individuals learn to trace the source of news messages, utilize verification platforms, and develop content awareness through acquiring media and digital literacy skills, integrating these into their daily practices. Keywords: Social Media, Disinformation on Social Media, Fact-Checking, Media Literacy, Aging, Continuity Theory