VIDEOS:
Brexit video - https://vimeo.com/190217146/a2070d79eb
US Election video - https://vimeo.com/190216972/3738942a81
NEWS COPY
Millions of clueless Brits blag their way through conversations about current affairs – with six in 10 relying on Google to avoid social embarrassment, according to new research.
Two in five adults admit they have pretended to understand more about current affairs than they actually do -- and 43 per cent evade topical chat because they don’t want to be humiliated.
Over a fifth of respondents don’t fully understand what Brexit is, a quarter are perplexed by fracking and 20 per cent are befuddled by the race for the White House.
Commissioned by children’s news magazine, The Week Junior, the survey of 2,000 UK adults also found one in five don’t know what article 50 is.
Anna Bassi, editor of The Week Junior said: "We are dedicated to bringing news and current affairs to young people, to help them make sense of the world.
"It's a shame that so many adults avoid broaching the big issues.
"The inquisitive nature of children means they are willing to ask questions to solve a conversational problem – so adults need to be able to answer them, rather than avoid the subject altogether."
Eight in 10 people admit they don’t really understand the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and 54 per cent couldn’t tell you the difference between the US Republican or Democrat political parties.
Over a quarter of adults mistakenly think Bob Dylan won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize rather than Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia.
A third were unable to correctly identify what NASA stands for, over half didn’t know the capital of Syria is Damascas – and one in five think George Osbourne is still the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The topics that leave people most confused include Russian foreign policy, international finance markets and the Israel/Palestine conflict.
To help close some of the knowledge gaps identified, The Week Junior has produced a series of videos tackling four particularly tricky topics.
The films, presented by 10 year olds, aim to bring viewers up to speed with an increasingly complex and constantly evolving news agenda.
Anna Bassi, editor of The Week Junior, said: "Our videos have been created to help adults and children understand what’s going on, and why it matters.
"We hope they will provoke interesting family conversations, help adults feel more comfortable discussing these topics and inspire children to find out more."
TOP 10 CURRENT AFFAIRS TOPICS MISUNDERSTOOD BY BRITS:
1. Russian foreign policy
2. International finance markets
3. The Israel / Palestine conflict
4. Syrian conflict
5. Islamic State
6. Grammar Schools / Academic reforms
7. Fracking
8. Brexit
9. Cyber Attacks
10. The US Election
ENDS
