Finding Facts
The way we discover information has developed over time. Whereas in previous centuries, people relied on books, libraries, pamphlets, and newspapers, as well as shared knowledge and gossip, there now exists a plethora of sources where answers can rapidly be found to any given question.
Two-thirds globally
head to Google to find the facts
Internet sources
When the internet was invented, the pioneering scientists developing its initial prototypes could not have envisaged what it is today; a pandora’s box of information, whether factual or trivial.
In a world where we can get online instantly from the phone in our pocket—anytime, anywhere—it is unsurprising that our research shows that globally two-thirds (67%) of people go to Google or another search engine as a primary source for factual information, and even more state that they have discovered a new fact using one of these sites (70%).
Beyond search engines, the internet is a gateway to other sources of information. Across the markets surveyed, more than a third (34%) turn to Wikipedia when looking for factual information—a site that has tried to improve its credibility in recent years by introducing more stringent editorial standards, but still raises questions about reliability due to being user-generated and editable. In Mexico, those using Wikipedia increases to nearly one in four (38%) and in India almost half (45%).
Social media
Many people bypass the internet and head straight to social media when looking for news updates or information.
To some, social media can be a primary vehicle for the spread of misinformation and disinformation, as seen during the pandemic, when the US government raised concerns over Facebook facilitating posts around vaccine misinformation16. Others perceive it as a valuable source for revealing sometimes hidden truths. Either way, social media plays a central role in the way we find and digest information in the modern day.
Globally, almost four in 10 (37%) stated that they turn to social to find factual information and almost half (46%) said they had discovered a new fact from doing so. Social platforms proved most popular in India, with these figures rising to 54% and 61% respectively, compared with the UK at 16% and 21%.
Similarly, while in the UK and US around one in 10 (8% UK; 12% US) use conversations on WhatsApp as a source for factual information, this number significantly increases to almost half (48%) in India.
turn to social media to find factual information
If you were looking for factual information, what source(s) would you typically use?
established news sources
educational textbooks or websites
Wikipedia
social media
a physical encyclopaedia or non-fiction book
academic journals
Established news sources
Traditional news sources remain a popular source for information, despite being less central than they once were through newspapers. 35% of overall respondents said they head to established news sources for facts, including news websites. This rises in South Africa (40%) and Mexico (44%) but declines in the UK (26%). Reuters' 2022 Digital News Report showed a similar declining interest in the news, as well as growth in selective news avoidance, which has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the UK (46%) since 2017. Many said they avoid news because they believe it cannot be trusted (29%).17
Academia and books
Before the internet, we had little choice but to consult books for information, and many of us still do. Across the markets, over a third (38%) said they turn to educational textbooks and websites when searching for facts, while 30% use libraries. The figure for library use rises to 41% in South Africa, but falls to 20% in the UK. Less popular at a global level is the use of physical encyclopedias or non-fiction books (17%). A similar number turn to academic journals (18%), however, public use of these sources can depend on access and increasingly, journal content is cited in mainstream news stories. At OUP, we saw an increase of 14% in visits to journals during the FY 2020/21, when COVID-19 was at its peak across the world.
In the last five years, have you found factual information or discovered a new fact doing any of the following?
cited Google, but power of friend or family is also key—a third get information from them (33%)
rely on scrolling social media, rising to 36% for under 24 year olds
Once a primary source for information, the popularity of the physical encyclopedia has been in steady decline since the rise of the internet in the 1990s, with Encyclopædia Britannica’s business peaking in 1990 as it sold more than 100,000 units of its iconic bound set in the US.18 Now, according to our research, just 17% of people globally turn to a physical encyclopedia or non-fiction book when seeking out a fact, compared with 37% turning to social.
Established news sources
Despite having multiple sources at our disposal, talking with friends, family, and trusted colleagues remains an important way for us to discover information. Globally, four in 10 said they had learnt a new fact this way in the last five years, a figure that is largely consistent across the markets.