How do I know what’s real online anymore?

Many people describe a growing sense of uncertainty online — questioning what they see, double-checking content, or feeling that authenticity is harder to judge than it used to be. Survey data can help place those experiences in context without assuming a single cause.

Answer

A large majority of people in HCI survey samples report greater uncertainty about what is real online. In our Digital Trust 2025 survey (n=505), 85% agreed that AI-generated media makes them feel less certain about what is real.

At the same time, in the Human Experience Baseline survey (n=1,511), 88% reported confidence in their ability to judge whether information is reliable.

Within these survey samples, this suggests that uncertainty about what is real online can coexist with confidence in personal judgement.

Percentages reflect respondents selecting 5–7 on a 7-point agreement scale unless otherwise stated.

These findings reflect self-reported perceptions within survey samples. They do not measure objective truth levels or establish causation.

How this experience is commonly described

  • I don’t know what’s real anymore.
  • Everything feels staged or artificial.
  • I feel like I’m constantly second-guessing what I see.
  • It shouldn’t be this hard to tell what’s real.
  • I feel like I have to be a detective just to read the news.

How this fits into the wider pattern

Across multiple HCI datasets, this pattern is consistent: people report increasing difficulty determining what is real online, even as they maintain confidence in their own ability to judge information.

This suggests that the challenge is not simply a decline in individual judgement, but a shift in the information environment itself — where the volume, realism, and variability of digital content make authenticity harder to assess.

In this context, uncertainty about what is real appears less as a personal limitation and more as a response to a more complex and ambiguous digital landscape.

What tends to accompany perceived reality uncertainty?

Among the 85% who agreed that AI-generated media makes them feel less certain about what is real (n=430):

  • 93% also reported high difficulty judging whether online information is trustworthy.
  • 62% also reported feeling anxious or uneasy when unsure what to trust.

This pattern suggests that uncertainty about what is real online often appears alongside heavier judgement demands and, for many respondents, emotional discomfort.

Theme: Trust, Reality & Uncertainty
Construct tags: Trust Calibration, Epistemic Confidence
I don’t know what to believe anymore — is this normal?
How uncertainty about what to trust relates to unease, doubt, and emotional strain. Why does everything online feel fake?
Perceived artificiality, manipulation concerns, and why content can feel less authentic. How can I trust AI if it sounds confident but is wrong?
Trust calibration and the gap between sounding certain and being accurate. Why do I feel overwhelmed trying to figure out what’s true?
Conflicting information, overload, and cognitive strain under uncertainty. Why does trying to verify information feel so exhausting?
Verification fatigue, repeated credibility checks, and mental effort.

Part of a wider topic

This page is part of the Trust, Reality & Uncertainty in the AI Era topic — examining trust in information sources, perceived deception risk, verification behaviour, and uncertainty about what is real online.

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