Disinformation continues to represent one of the main threats to democratic stability and the quality of public debate. Globally, the phenomenon is growing, fueled by the digital ecosystem and emerging technologies.
According to the Digital News Report Italia 2025, over half of Italians (54%) say they are worried about the difficulty of distinguishing true and false news online, a figure that fits into a context of drastic decline in general interest in news, which has fallen below 40% in ten years, and structurally low trust towards newspapers, in line with the European average.
The Italian paradox is evident: attention decreases, but news consultation remains high and fragmented, often conditioned by social media algorithms, indicated as among the channels perceived to be most at risk of misinformation, in particular TikTok and Facebook. Added to this is a critical fact: only 17% of Italians have received some form of news education or media literacy, far below the international average (22%).
These and other themes will be at the center of the meeting entitled “The importance of certified and quality information”, promoted by Gazzetta del Sud, which will be held this morning at 10.30 am, at the San Giovanni monumental complex in Catanzaro.
The initiative – organized on the occasion of the World Day against disinformation and fake news – will see the participation of Lino Morgante and Nino Rizzo Nervo, respectively president of the Sud publishing company and managing director of the Gazzetta del Sud and of Riccardo Giacoia (editor-in-chief of Rai), Mariaelena Senese (regional secretary of Uil), Aldo Ferrara (president of Unindustria Calabria), Danilo Iannello (lawyer) and Alberto Scerbo (professor of Philosophy of the Right to Umg). The debate will be moderated by Giuseppe Soluri, president of the Order of Journalists of Calabria.
The objective of the event is to promote urgent public reflection on the need to preserve rigorous, verified and responsible information, focusing attention in particular on the role of local journalism, which continues to enjoy the highest trust among Italian citizens.