This is a blog of two parts, firstly some alarming academic research on community Facebook groups so brilliant I wish I’d written it myself. Secondly, some steps you can take to tackle the issues.
But first the issues, Facebook groups and Nextdoor communities have become a hotbed of misinformation.
It’s especially a problem in areas of the UK without healthy journalism.
All this is in the excellent ‘No News is Bad News: The Hidden Threat of Unchecked Local Misinformation’ published by the Social Market Foundation. Authors Jamie Gollings and Niamh O’Regan and their researchers have produced something of real value.
By looking at thousands of posts they have quantified the problem. In some cases, no doubt, they have lifted the rock that decision makers would rather not see. It that’s you, it’s important you see this.
Why are online community spaces so important?
As newspapers have closed and newsrooms thinned out, online community spaces have often become the prime source of local information.
- Ofcom says UK Facebook groups are the most important source of council information for everyone aged 25 to 64.
- Two thirds of the UK people use Facebook and two thirds use groups. That’s about half the UK population.
- Nextdoor stats are harder to comeby with the platform claiming 10 million users in 2024.
In short, if it happens in the community then it tends to happens in the community Facebook group first. However, as the research shows, much power is in the hands of the admin with groups not subject to any complaints or fact-checking procedures.
Is this a problem?
The research says hold their beer.
What’s the size of the problem
This is where the research comes in so useful.
- On Facebook, 4 per cent of content is misinformation
- On X, 28 per cent of content is misinformation.
- 40 per cent of Facebook community groups have misinformation.
- 80 per cent of X searches in a community found misinformation.
- 16 of 19 Nextdoor communities had misinformation.
In Northern Ireland and Scotland the problem was worse than the rest of the UK.
If anything, this is at the low end of my experience. Some groups I’ve been a member of have had far, far more than 4 per cent misinformation.
In news deserts, the problem is worse
News desert are places that have no of few organs of journalism. In the olden days, this used to be the local paper. As advertising has moved from print to Google and Facebook these outlets have struggled and closed.
- In news deserts, there is three times as much misinformation.
- Where there are strong news outlets the problem is halved.
You can take a closer look at the issue by taking a look at research published by the Public Interest News Foundation in late 2025. It’s scary reading. It’s also surprising.
Large parts of London are effectively news deserts without local journalism.
In elections, it’s even worse
When polls are about to open, the problem gets worse. In the Gorton & Denton Westminster by-election research showed a 26 times higher spike of misinformation.
In supporting research on the Makerfield Westminster by-election misinformation increased by 19 per cent as a percentage of all posts. For news, they quadrupled.
So, what to do?
The research makes some great points for policy makers. Most of them are out of reach of councils, police, fire or NHS there’s several approaches to take. The £20 million national fund to help people understand misinformation would be lovely, for example. But that’s for UK and devolved Government.
Here’s some approaches based on my own experience and observation.
What a public sector comms team can do
Start by mapping. Have you list of the Facebook groups in your area? Do you know your Nextdoor numbers? Do you know how diverse your community is? Do you know the best way to reach in an emergency the Romanian community who may have built-up in your area?
The community forums are going to be the most useful.
Niche communities like Stamp Collecting in Stafford will be less so.
Commonly, there are community noticeboards, heritage groups, photography groups, campaign groups around an issue and selling groups.
Share your content directly. If you can join a Facebook group as a page and share content then do so. Don’t bombard groups but if the content is relevant then do so. Try and do so directly. You’ll reach more people. Example: Here’s where you can get a flu jab this winter. Full list here…
Share your content through advocates. Create a WhatsApp group of supporters who are happy to take and amplify your work. So the Polish-speaker who is member of Polish groups is worth their weight in gold. Example: Oto, gdzie możesz zaszczepić się na grypę tej zimy. Pełna lista tutaj… (Here’s where you can get a flu jab this winter. Full list here…)
Don’t challenge the misinformation directly. This is where UK Government advice on misinformation comes in handy. Don’t add your comment onto a thread. It just amplifies the misinformation. If needs be challenge it by giving the accurate information in a new thread or in other groups. Example: Here’s video of the Bangladeshi nurse explaining in Bengali what the flu jab is and why it is safe to take taking on board community concerns posted as a seperate post not as a comment.
Escalate monitoring and comms at election time. This isn’t about the comms team fact-checking every post. This is about keeping an eye on what the facts are. Example: Here’s what the law says on what you can take into a polling station.
The temptation is to reserve these tactics for special occasions. The moral of the Social Market Foundation research is that misinformation in community spaces is an everyday thing.
Misinformation needs to be challenged.
I get that time is precious. But at the end of the day democracy is what’s at stake.
So build community groups into your communications every day.
Don’t look the other way.
For more, I deliver training to help you make sense of the changing landscape.
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Picture credit: By James T M Towill, CC BY-SA 2.0.