Moral leniency towards belief-consistent disinformation may help explain its spread on social media

ABSTRACT: The spread of false and misleading information on social media is largely dependent on human action. Understanding the factors that lead social media users to amplify (or indeed intervene in) the spread of this content is an ongoing challenge. Prior research suggests that users are not only more likely to interact with misinformation that supports their ideology or their political beliefs, they may also feel it is more acceptable to spread. However, less is known about the influence of newer, issue-specific beliefs. Two online studies explored the relationship between the degree of belief-consistency of disinformation on users’ moral judgements and intentions to spread disinformation further. Four disinformation narratives were presented: disinformation that supported or undermined the UK

SUBMITTER: Joyner L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10032519 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature