Monetization of social media engagements increases the sharing of false (and other) news but penalization moderates it

Abstract

Social media companies are introducing new features for users to monetize engagements, derived from blockchain-based decentralized social media. These steps are potentially worrisome. The monetization of engagements might create incentives to post objectionable content. However, it is unclear to what extent such negative outcomes are likely to occur. To address this question, we first administered a survey that showed that many users have a poor understanding of the mechanisms behind monetization. Second, we conducted a survey experiment to examine the effects of hypothetical monetary incentives. We find that a simple nudge about the possibility of earning money for user engagements increases the willingness to share different kinds of news, including misinformation. The presence of penalties for objectionable posts diminishes the positive effect of monetary rewards on misinformation sharing, but it does not eliminate it. These results have policy implications for content moderation practices if platforms embrace decentralization and monetization.