99% of high-school/college students say misinformation in news media increases their anxiety.

Question

A recent survey by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) asked more than 3,000 high-school students and recent graduates about how world event misinformation influences them. The results were striking: 99% of respondents said that misinformation in the news media was contributing to their anxiety or worry about current events. Georgia Public Broadcasting. For a college student audience, this matters because we often consume rapid news updates, viral posts, and trending content, and the emotional impact of being misinformed (or aware of misinformation) can affect our mental health, sense of agency, and how we engage with media.

This claim is largely accurate given the survey data, but it’s worth noting the nuance: the sample is high-school students and recent grads, rather than exclusively college students; “misinformation in news media” is broad; and “increases anxiety” doesn’t specify magnitude or causation. Nonetheless, the claim highlights a real problem: the prevalence of misinformation is creating measurable psychological stress among younger people.

Answer 1

The original claim that 99% of high school/ college students say misinformation in news increases their anxiety is slightly misleading. The source claims that 99% of their survey respondents (3272 high school + college students) claimed that they believe misinformation is a problem with our news today, however, only 82% claim that world news has a negative impact on their mental health. Nowhere in the primary data does NSHSS claim that 99% of students say misinformation directly increase anxiety for them. 

With that said, it's also important to keep in mind that this survey only represents a very slim group of the country's youth, and a vague group at that given that there is no demographic data beyond age and graduation year. In addition, the survey is admittedly quite informal, as there is no mention anywhere on their website or slideshow about the methods and controls that the researchers at NSHSS used to conduct this survey, which means for all we know, respondents could have been presented with survey questions in a misleading fashion. 

In essence, given the informality of the survey research conducted by NSHSS, and the slight inaccuracy of the claim, I would say that this initial claim is no where near definitive.

Links to NSHSS's website and data:

https://www.nshss.org/resources/teen-trends-survey-2025/

https://www.nshss.org/media/iwwdrktq/nshss-2025-teen-trends-survey-final.pdf

Answer 2

The post speaks on the effects of how high school students are affected by misinformation and its influence.

The post itself gives a link to the article from GPD.org, with it being a .org, it is known to be most likely to be credible.  The article states a survey done by the National Society of High School Scholars. GPD.org  is owned by pbs and npr so this again helps us to know the source is credible. 

 Some biases that the source might have is that because it is such a reputable and quality source they might have biases to sites that are not as accurate as they are they possibly spread misinformations.  

 evidence that supports the claim that i am fact checking the survey work mentioned in the article proving the statements misinformation in highschool students is causing stress and depression. 

I did not contact the person that wrote this article because the comment was just quoting the article and I believe the article to be factual and true.

Answer 3

The initial claim that 99% of high-school and college students say the misinformation found in news increases their anxiety is misleading and exaggerated. The source provided does state that 99% of the responses from the 3272 students, both high-school and college, claimed they believed misinformation in news media is “troubling”, as it contributes to increasing rates of anxiety and depression when they cannot believe the news being presented to them without fact checking. However, “99% of students” does not describe who was in this survey. Th source does not disclose the specific age range these students fell into, where they were located, or how the other findings from the survey about understanding and managing their personal finances correlates to their contribution. 

Sources:

https://www.gpb.org/news/2025/08/15/survey-high-school-students-say-misinformation-about-world-events-causing-anxiety

Answer 4

This headline claims that 99% of high school and college students say misinformation increases their anxiety, but that's not entirely reflected in the survey findings being reported. The article states that 99% of respondents find misinformation troubling, and 93% feel the need to fact check news. While it's true that a large number of students do find misinformation concerning, a direct connection to increases in anxiety is never explicitly mentioned. There are no studies on the relationship between the misinformation and the anxiety felt by students. The survey findings are overstated as universal, saying "almost all" students are affected and making it sound like misinformation universally drives anxiety. The article also lacks experts or comparative context, only citing its own survey of 3,272 high school students. The article correctly reports that surveyed students express significant concern about misinformation and want better resources for reliable information, but it exaggerates by presenting these self-reported concerns as direct evidence that misinformation is causing widespread anxiety or depression without independent clinical measures or broader representative data. The emotional impact is real but more nuanced than the article's framing suggests.