Misinformation and News Overwhelm

Bad news on repeat can leave you drained. So can the feeling that you cannot tell what is true any more.

In 2025, 41% of UK adults online had seen false or misleading information in the past four weeks. Ofcom found it was the most common potential harm online.

ViaCara connects adults with support. If you are under 18, YoungMinds and Childline have advice written for you. Our under-18s section lists services you can contact.

Source: Ofcom: online nation 2025

Why it can wear you down

In Ofcom's 2026 report, 56% of social media users had seen false or misleading news in the past year. Some people told Ofcom they had stepped back from the news because it felt overwhelming or draining.

Scrolling through bad news for long stretches is sometimes called "doomscrolling". Mind says reading the news again and again during bad world events can harm your wellbeing.

These surveys measure how often people meet false information, not what it does to their mental health. We think much of the strain comes from the constant work of sorting true from false.

Sources: Ofcom: media use 2026, MHF: doomscrolling, Mind: being online

What it can look like

You may recognise some of these:

• You check the news first thing in the morning and last thing at night
• You feel on edge after reading, but keep reading anyway
• You no longer know which sources to trust, so you trust none of them
• You have fallen out with a friend or relative over a story
• You shared something that turned out to be false, and felt foolish
• You avoid the news completely, then feel guilty for not knowing

None of this makes you gullible or weak. Anyone can be caught out.

How to check what you see

Full Fact, a UK fact-checking charity, suggests three questions to ask about anything you read online:

• Where is it from? Trusted sources are the safest place to start. If a claim names no source, try to find one.
• What is missing? A headline rarely tells you everything. Photos and videos can be edited or made up.
• How does it make you feel? People who make false stories often try to play on your feelings.

For health claims, an NHS checklist called Misinformation UnMASKED can help. It asks who wrote the claim, what evidence it links to and how old it is. It also suggests asking a friend or a librarian to help.

You do not have to check everything. You might start with the things you want to share or act on.

Sources: Full Fact: misinformation toolkit, NHS: UnMASKED guide

Small changes that can help

The Mental Health Foundation suggests small changes to how you use news and social media apps. You might try some of these:

• Turn off instant alerts, so you choose when to look
• Set a time limit on your scrolling, and try to keep to it
• Hide or block accounts that leave you feeling worse
• Make one room a no-phone zone, so there is somewhere it does not follow you

Nobody can keep up with everything, and it is fine to take a break. You do not have to stop following the news altogether.

If the weight is the events themselves rather than what is true, our page on world events covers that side.

Sources: MHF: doomscrolling, Mind: upsetting news

What talking can help with

A professional will not tell you what to believe. They can help with how the news, and the arguments around it, leave you feeling.

• The worry that stays with you after you put the phone down
• The urge to keep checking, even when it makes you feel worse
• Strained relationships with people who see things differently
• Trusting your own judgement again, at your own pace

If it has left you with anxiety or sleep problems, those pages say more. If your mood has stayed low and will not lift, read about depression.