Why do people around the world share fake news? New research finds commonalities in global behavior
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and British "Brexit" referendum — and then COVID-19 — opened the floodgates on fake news, academic research has delved into the psychology behind online misinformation and suggested interventions that might help curb the phenomenon.
- The traits shared by misinformation spreaders are surprisingly similar worldwide new MIT Sloan research finds.
- Most studies have focused on misinformation in the West, even though misinformation is very much a dire global problem.
- "This research helps us better understand who is susceptible to misinformation, and it shows us there are globally relevant interventions to help."
- Future research should test these types of interventions in field experiments on social media platforms around the world, Rand said.