No one is immune to misinformation: An investigation of misinformation sharing by subscribers to a fact-checking newsletter

Abstract

Like other disease outbreaks, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rapid generation and dissemination of misinformation and fake news. We investigated whether subscribers to a fact checking newsletter (n = 1397) were willing to share possible misinformation, and whether predictors of possible misinformation sharing are the same as for general samples. We also investigated predictors of willingness to have a COVID-19 vaccine and found that although vaccine acceptance was high on average, it decreased as a function of lower belief in science and higher conspiracy mentality. We found that 24% of participants had shared possible misinformation and that this was predicted by a lower belief in science. Like general samples, our participants were typically motivated to share possible misinformation due to interest in the information, or to seek a second opinion about claim veracity. However, even if information is shared in good faith and not for the purpose of deceiving or misleading others, the spread of misinformation is nevertheless highly problematic. Exposure to misinformation engenders faulty beliefs in others and undermines efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19 by reducing adherence to social distancing measures and increasing vaccine hesitancy.

The Prevalence and Impact of Fake News on COVID-19 Vaccination in Taiwan: Retrospective Study of Digital Media

“…Sometimes bots are designed for a specific issue [ 13 ] and might have malicious intent. The growth of biased, intentional, or extremist public opinion in the news is sometimes difficult to detect, but it potentially impacts our thinking [ 25 , 26 ]. Understanding the potential media framing is a vital personal ability in the internet age of massive information floods.…”

“…Some researchers have designed questionnaire-based studies to investigate this association [ 20 - 22 ]. One such study quantified the rise in the number of antivaccine tweets during the pandemic [ 23 ], and several studies investigated factors affecting the spread of misinformation [ 24 , 25 ]. Building upon this previous research, we hypothesized that a higher prevalence of misinformation might have a greater adverse effect on vaccination decisions.…”

Vaccine Hesitancy

“…In this way, both false information and online misinformation affect the levels of acceptance of vaccination treatment, increasing the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy. Indeed, many studies have verified the correlation between exposure to online misinformation and the increase in vaccine hesitancy rates (Van der Linden, Roozenbeek and Compton 2020; Saling et al 2021).…”

Analisis Pengaruh Berita Bohong di Sosial Media Terhadap Keputusan Masyarakat Indonesia Melakukan Vaksinasi Covid-19

“…Memang tidak semua orang langsung percaya dengan informasi-informasi yang tersebar di dunia maya, masih ada orang yang mengecek kebenarannya. Namun, dari penelitian lain, rupanya orang-orang yang sudah melakukan pengecekan fakta ini masih saja bisa terpapar dengan berita-berita bohong, yang berarti tidak ada orang di dunia ini yang bisa terlepas dari penyimpangan informasi karena berita-berita bohong ini (Saling, Mallal, Scholer, Skelton, & Spina, 2021).…”