Communications of the ACM
You're More Likely to Fight Misinformation If You Think Others Are Being Duped
People in both the U.S. and China who think others are being duped by online misinformation about COVID-19 are also more likely to support corporate and political efforts to address that misinformation, according to a new study.
Credit: ProtonMail
People in the U.S. and China who think others are being deceived by online misinformation on COVID-19 are more likely to back corporate and political countermeasures.
Researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) and the South China University of Technology polled 1,793 American adults and 504 Chinese adults.
Respondents in both countries felt online misinformation caused anger and/or anxiety, were more likely to assume it was influencing others, and were more likely to support corrective or restrictive actions.
U.S. respondents who said misinformation makes them anxious or angry were more likely to support restrictive actions by social media companies or policymakers.
NC State's Yang Cheng said, "The findings suggest that one way to engage the public in the fight against misinformation is to highlight the ways that misinformation can harm or otherwise influence other people."
From NC State University News
Abstracts Copyright © 2021 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
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