Fewer than 1 in 3 Europeans verify what they find online, and that’s good news

Only 29.2% of people aged 16–74 in the European Union tried to verify whether the information they found or received online was real or fabricated in 2025, according to new Eurostat data. The differences between countries are surprising: Ireland led the EU at 63.6%, while just 9.8% of people in Greece reported doing the same.

This is concerning, especially now that generative AI can produce convincing text, photographs, voices and video, while scammers routinely use the names, faces and identities of real people and organizations to advance their fraud campaigns.

Unfortunately, Eurostat’s numbers don’t tell us who can recognize misinformation, and they certainly don’t mean that everyone else believes everything that appears on their screens. They actually measure something more specific: whether people actively tried to verify the truthfulness of information or content they encountered online.

Key takeaways

• Only 29.2% of people aged 16–74 in the EU tried to verify online information or content in 2025
• Ireland recorded the highest share at 63.6%, followed by the Netherlands at 53.1% and Luxembourg at 45.2%
• Greece had the lowest share at 9.8%, followed by Lithuania at 14.9% and Romania at 18.2%
• Comparable Eurostat data shows that the EU figure was around 23% in 2021 and 27% in 2023, suggesting verification has become more common
• The numbers measure verification behavior, not people’s ability to distinguish true information from misinformation correctly

How often do Europeans check what they find online?

Eurostat’s 2025 numbers show large differences in verification habits across Europe. Ireland sits at the top, with 63.6% of people aged 16–74 trying to verify online information through other sources. The Netherlands follows at 53.1%, while Luxembourg reaches 45.2%.

The EU average is much lower, at 29.2%. Romania sits near the other end of the table at 18.2%, followed by Lithuania at 14.9% and Greece at just 9.8%.

The gap is substantial. Someone surveyed in Ireland was more than six times as likely to report checking online information than shouldn’t need to be taken out of context.

It’s very tempting to reverse it and say that 70.8% of Europeans don’t check whether something they see online is true. It measures a reported activity during a particular period, not whether someone is skeptical, gullible or capable of recognizing false information.

Are Europeans getting better at verifying online information?

In fact, the 2025 statistics reflect an encouraging trend. Eurostat has measured the same behavior in previous surveys.

In 2021, around 23% of people aged 16–74 in the EU verified the truthfulness of information or content they found on news websites or social media. Eurostat also found that 47% had encountered information they considered untrue or doubtful in the three months before the survey.

By 2023, the overall verification figure had risen to 27%, which is good news since it highlights a trend.

The latest figure of 29.2% continues an upward direction. It might not be a dramatic transformation, but active verification appears to be becoming more common.

Young Europeans are more likely to check what they see

There’s even better news when it comes to young people. Age is one of the clearest differences in Eurostat’s data. In its latest analysis, Eurostat reports that 41% of people aged 16–29 used the internet verified information or content they found online in 2025, compared with a rounded 31% figure for the broader population of internet users in that particular comparison.

Younger people’s higher verification rate is particularly notable because they’re also heavy internet users. Greater exposure to online information creates more opportunities to encounter misleading material, scams and manipulated content.

Why verification matters more in the age of AI

There was a time when questionable online content could be relatively easy to spot. A phishing email might contain obvious spelling mistakes, a fraudulent website could look poorly built, or a manipulated photograph could contain visible artifacts. Those clues haven’t disappeared, but they’re becoming less reliable.

Generative AI can give scammers polished text, realistic images and convincing audio without requiring the skills that would once have been necessary to produce them. The result is that many of the superficial signals people have traditionally used to judge credibility are losing some value.

A second source is becoming part of online security

Information verification increasingly belongs alongside more familiar online-safety habits such as using unique passwords, enabling multifactor authentication and keeping software updated.

Tools can help as well. Bitdefender RealCheck helps people assess suspicious online content, including potential deepfakes and scams, when something doesn’t look right. But no automated tool can replace a simple habit that works across almost every type of online deception: checking whether an important claim can be independently confirmed before acting on it.

Eurostat’s numbers suggest that habit is becoming more common in Europe. In 2021, around 23% of people reported verifying online information. In 2025, the figure reached 29.2%.

FAQ

How many people verify information they find online?

In 2025, 29.2% of people aged 16–74 in the EU tried to verify the truthfulness of information or content they found online using other sources.

Which EU country verifies online information most often?

Ireland recorded the highest share in 2025 at 63.6%, followed by the Netherlands at 53.1% and Luxembourg at 45.2%.

Which EU countries have the lowest verification rates?

Greece recorded the lowest share, at 9.8%, followed by Lithuania at 14.9% and Romania at 18.2%.

Are Europeans checking online information more often?

Eurostat’s comparable surveys show an upward trend. Around 23% of people aged 16–74 verified online information in 2021, rising to 27% in 2023 and 29.2% in 2025.

Does the Eurostat data mean most Europeans believe misinformation?

No. Eurostat measures whether people reported checking the truthfulness of online information during a specific period. It doesn’t measure whether they believe misinformation or whether they can identify false content.