The persuasive effects of social cues and source effects on misinformation susceptibility.

ABSTRACT: Although misinformation exposure takes place within a social context, significant conclusions have been drawn about misinformation susceptibility through studies that largely examine judgements in a social vacuum. Bridging the gap between social influence research and the cognitive science of misinformation, we examine the mechanisms through which social context impacts misinformation susceptibility across 5 experiments (N = 20,477). We find that social cues only impact individual judgements when they influence perceptions of wider social consensus, and that source similarity only biases news consumers when the source is high in credibility. Specifically, high and low engagement cues ('likes') reduced misinformation susceptibility relative to a control, and endorsement cues increased susce

SUBMITTER: Traberg CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10879158 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature