Online political engagement, cognitive skills and engagement with misinformation: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States

Abstract

PurposeInformational use of social media facilitates political engagement. Yet, there is also evidence of the perils of frequent political engagement in misinformation propagation. This study aims to examine the association between online political engagement, perceived exposure to misinformation, individuals’ cognitive characteristics and misinformation sharing.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, online surveys were conducted in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa (Study 1) and the United States (Study 2).FindingsStudy 1 finds that online political engagement is positively associated with perceived exposure to and sharing of misinformation. Mediation analyses suggest that the relationship between online political engagement and misinformation sharing is mediated by perceived exposure to misinformation. Further, the likelihood of sharing misinformation is found to increase at higher levels of online political engagement, but those with low need for cognition (NFC) are more vulnerable to such sharing. Study 2 explores cognitive ability in place of NFC. The results follow similar patterns as Study 1 – online political engagement is linked to misinformation sharing via higher perceived exposure to misinformation. The authors also find that the tendency to share misinformation increases with frequent exposure to misinformation but those with lower cognitive ability are more prone to such sharing.Originality/valueIn both contexts, the data show that perceived exposure to misinformation mediates the relationship between online political engagement and misinformation sharing and those with low NFC and cognitive ability are more vulnerable. Overall, the findings offer insight into the mechanisms of political engagement and sharing misinformation.

Examining the association between social media fatigue, cognitive ability, narcissism and misinformation sharing: cross-national evidence from eight countries

“…The test has also been used in studies examining the association between cognitive ability and misinformation engagement 19,52 . Additionally, the wordsum test has been tested across diverse international samples from countries such as Belgium, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore, and South Africa [ [57][58][59].…”

Connecting differential psychological motivations for WeChat use with civic engagement: the significant role of bonding and bridging social capital

“…Civic engagement encompasses a range of complex dimensions that pertain to the actions and behaviors of both individuals and groups in relation to matters of public significance (Ahmed et al, 2023;Ferrucci et al, 2020;Zhong, 2014). The scope of actions encompasses several forms of engagement, including individual acts of voluntarism, participation within organizations and involvement in electoral processes (Cheng et al, 2015;Wen and Wei, 2018).…”

“…A number of researchers have claimed that mobile SNSs could serve as a significant avenue for citizens' civic involvement (Ahmed et al, 2023;Choi and Shin, 2017;Gil de Z uñiga et al, 2012). The fundamental assumption of those investigations is that individuals engage in political and civic affairs because they are required or heartened by other people with whom they have interpersonal relationships (Ellison et al, 2007;Pang, 2022a).…”

“…Civic engagement encompasses a range of complex dimensions that pertain to the actions and behaviors of both individuals and groups in relation to matters of public significance (Ahmed et al. , 2023; Ferrucci et al.…”

“…A number of researchers have claimed that mobile SNSs could serve as a significant avenue for citizens' civic involvement (Ahmed et al. , 2023; Choi and Shin, 2017; Gil de Zúñiga et al.…”