Does Granny Need Fact-Checking?

Facebook users over the age of 65 were much more likely to have shared fake news stories on the site during 2016 presidential campaign than any other age group, according to a new study from researchers at Princeton University and New York University.

According to The Hill, the study, published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday, found that users 65 years and older were more than twice as likely to share links from fake news sites as those in the next oldest age group of 45 to 65 years old. And they were nearly seven times as likely to share such links as users in the youngest age group surveyed.

The journal article found that sharing fake news links was rare among its respondents. Only 8.5 percent of those surveyed were found to have shared any such links.

It also found that those on the conservative end of the political spectrum were more likely than those identifying as liberals to have shared fake news items.