By Étienne Day

Publié le 13 mars 2026

With the development of modern technologies like internet, social media, and AI we can now share more information than ever. Although this seems like a good thing, not everyone can see the difference between an expert, an influencer or AI-generated content. 

Gen z who are directly exposed to the new era of online culture are more easily influenced by conspiracy theory and misinformation on online networks like the manosphere. Science can seem to be an abstract subject for people who don’t do proper research or do trust everything they see online. 

Science skepticism among Gen Z men is rising because of the development of AI’s mimicry of experts, the influence of social media and the lack of honesty and critical thinking. 

AI is already able to imitate human traits and can already deceive people. With AI constantly improving, it won’t be long until it can imitate humans perfectly and use the faces, the voices and the credibility of real experts and scientists to create misinformation about everything including science. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a famous science communicator, talks on an interview on Fox News about the danger that AI could create false information so convincing that people would lose faith in the internet as an objective source of information. This sort of thinking is already happening where some of the most basic science phenomena shown on the internet can be called fake because of AI. If you view science as an adversarial contest to be won at all costs (which is mainly a male tendency), you could simply undermine the credibility of others by saying that their proof was created by AI and presenting yourself a proof that is made by AI without realizing it. 

The fact that Gen Z is more on social media than other generations increase their chances to be influenced by misinformation or conspiracy theory posted online. According to a study on young Europeans, 42% of them use social media like TikTok to find answers to their questions. This study also proved that Gen Z trusts more TikTok and Instagram than any other digital platform. With the 2024 Reuters Institute Digital News Report revealing that TikTok is an obvious source of misinformation, the Gen Z is more vulnerable to misinformation online than any other generation.

Science has a history of people with great passions in their own personal field. To act like a scientist, in my experience you need to be honest with your approach. When a scientist does an experiment that proved his or her theory, he or she needs to replicate it several times and even give the protocol of his or her experiment for other scientists to replicate it themselves. Only after other scientists has challenged his or her theory, he or she can be sure of his veracity. When treating with science online, my experience tells me to use critical thinking to distinguish misinformation. Critical thinking needs to be taught and developed young. In the same direction, the SDG 4 “quality education” emphasizes the importance for young men to have a critical thinking and educations that promote the development of critical thinking, curiosity, and honesty to be able to distinguish misinformation and true scientific concepts. 

In the end, it becomes clear that rising science skepticism among Gen Z men is connected to AI’s expert-like mimicry, the overwhelming presence of social media, and the lack of digital skills. Together, these influences make misinformation easier to spread and harder to detect. By building better critical thinking skills and creating safer online spaces, young people can be better prepared to face today’s confusing digital world and make more informed judgments.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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