Why is fake news so fascinating to the brain?

Grignolio, Andrea; Morelli, Micaela; Tamietto, Marco

doi:10.1111/ejn.15844

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At a time when misinformation can be easily promoted and shared, it is important to understand what makes people susceptible to believing and sharing fake news. Developing effective interventions against misinformation depends not only on understanding the underlying psychology but also on elucidating the neuronal and neurochemical mechanisms of susceptibility to fake news. − Indeed, in the past few years, the phenomenon of misinformation has received increasing attention from psychologists, neurobiologists, and cognitive scientists who have examined personality traits and cognitive processes involved in susceptibility to misinformation. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Report: A Link between Sertraline Treatment and Susceptibility to (Mis)information

Piksa,

Noworyta,

Piasecki

et al. 2024

ACS Chem. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent research revealed that several psycho-cognitive processes, such as insensitivity to positive and negative feedback, cognitive rigidity, pessimistic judgment bias, and anxiety, are involved in susceptibility to fake news. All of these processes have been previously associated with depressive disorder and are sensitive to serotoninergic manipulations. In the current study, a link between chronic treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline and susceptibility to true and fake news was examined. Herein, a sample of 1162 participants was recruited via Prolific Academic for an online study. Half of the sample reported taking sertraline (Zoloft) for at least 8 weeks (sertraline group), and the other half confirmed not taking any psychiatric medication (control group). The sertraline group was further divided according to their daily dosage (50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/day). All participants completed a susceptibility to misinformation scale, wherein they were asked to determine the veracity of the presented true and fake news and their willingness to behaviorally engage with the news. The results were compared between those of the sertraline groups and the control group. The results showed that sertraline groups did not differ significantly in the assessment of the truthfulness of information or their ability to discern the truth. However, those taking sertraline appeared to have a significantly increased likelihood of behavioral engagement with the information, and this effect was observed for both true and fake news. The research presented here represents the initial endeavor to comprehend the neurochemical foundation of the susceptibility to misinformation. The association between sertraline treatment and increased behavioral engagement with information observed in this study can be explained in light of previous studies showing positive correlations between serotonin (5-HT) system activity and the inclination to engage in social behaviors. It can also be attributed to the anxiolytic effects of sertraline treatment, which mitigate the fear of social judgment. The heightened behavioral engagement with information in people taking sertraline may, as part of a general phenomenon, also shape their interactions with fake news. Future longitudinal studies should reveal the specificity and exact causality of these interactions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Report: A Link between Sertraline Treatment and Susceptibility to (Mis)information

Piksa,

Noworyta,

Piasecki

et al. 2024

ACS Chem. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Twitter—under Jack Dorsey—was an easy target for criticism as it grappled with fake news, conspiracy theories, bad actors, as well as unsavoury and sometimes downright dangerous content (see Grignolio et al, 2022, for a discussion of the neural bases of susceptibility to such content).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%