The Presentation of Self in Virtual Life: Disinformation Warnings and the Spread of Misinformation Regarding COVID-19

Autor: Kevin T. Leicht, Joseph Yun, Brant Houston, Loretta Auvil, Eamon Bracht
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol 8, Iss 8, Pp 52-68 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2377-8253
2377-8261
DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2022.8.8.03
Popis: In our analysis, we examine whether the labeling of social media posts as misinformation affects the subsequent sharing of them by social media users. Conventional understandings of the presentation of self and work in cognitive psychology provide different understandings of whether labeling misinformation in social media posts will reduce sharing behavior. Part of the problem with understanding whether interventions will work hinges on how closely social media interactions mirror other interpersonal interactions with friends and associates in the offline world. Our analysis looks at rates of misinformation labeling during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic on Facebook and Twitter, and then assesses whether sharing behavior is deterred by misinformation labels applied to social media posts. Our results suggest that labeling is relatively successful at lowering sharing behavior. We discuss how our results contribute to a larger understanding of the role of existing inequalities and government responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals