False memory and COVID-19: How people fall for fake news about COVID-19 in digital contexts.

ABSTRACT: People are often exposed to fake news. Such an exposure to misleading information might lead to false memory creation. We examined whether people can form false memories for COVID-19-related fake news. Furthermore, we investigated which individual factors might predict false memory formation for fake news. In two experiments, we provided participants with two pieces of COVID-19-related fake news along with a non-probative photograph. In Experiment 1, 41% (n = 66/161) of our sample reported at least one false memory for COVID-19-related fake news. In Experiment 2, even a higher percentage emerged (54.9%; n = 185/337). Moreover, in Experiment 2, participants with conspiracy beliefs were more likely to report false memories for fake news than those without such beliefs, irrespec

SUBMITTER: Mangiulli I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9608342 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature