Perceived prevalence of misinformation fuels worries about COVID-19: a cross-country, multi-method investigation

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• dc.contributor.author Matthes, Jörg
• dc.contributor.author Corbu, Nicoleta
• dc.contributor.author Jin, Soyeon
• dc.contributor.author Theocharis, Yannis
• dc.contributor.author Schemer, Christian
• dc.contributor.author Aelst, Peter van
• dc.contributor.author Strömbäck, Jesper
• dc.contributor.author Koc-Michalska, Karolina
• dc.contributor.author Esser, Frank
• dc.contributor.author Aalberg, Toril
• dc.contributor.author Cardenal, Ana Sofía
• dc.contributor.author Castro, Laia
• dc.contributor.author Vreese, Claes de
• dc.contributor.author Hopmann, David Nicolas
• dc.contributor.author Sheafer, Tamir
• dc.contributor.author Splendore, Sergio
• dc.contributor.author Stanyer, James
• dc.contributor.author Stępińska, Agnieszka
• dc.contributor.author Štětka, Václav
• dc.contributor.author Zoizner, Alon
• dc.date.accessioned 2023-05-16T06:18:30Z
• dc.date.available 2023-05-16T06:18:30Z
• dc.date.issued 2023
• dc.description.abstract Data suggests that the majority of citizens in various countries came across ‘fake news’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. We test the relationship between perceived prevalence of misinformation and people’s worries about COVID-19. In Study 1, analyses of a survey across 17 countries indicate a positive association: perceptions of high prevalence of misinformation are correlated with high worries about COVID-19. However, the relationship is weaker in countries with higher levels of case-fatality ratios, and independent from the actual amount of misinformation per country. Study 2 replicates the relationship using experimental data. Furthermore, Study 2 demonstrates the underlying mechanism, that is, perceived prevalence of misinformation fosters the belief that COVID-19 is spiralling out of control, which in turn, increases worries. Our findings suggest that perceived prevalence of misinformation can have significant psychological effects, even though audience members reject the information as being false.
• dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
• dc.identifier.citation Matthes J, Corbu N, Jin S, Theocharis Y, Schemer C, van Aelst P, Strömbäck J, Koc-Michalska K, Esser F, Aalberg T, Cardenal AS, Castro L, de Vreese C, Hopmann D, Sheafer T, Splendore S, Stanyer J, Stępińska A, Štětka V, Zoizner A. Perceived prevalence of misinformation fuels worries about COVID-19: a cross-country, multi-method investigation. Inf Commun Soc. 2023;26(16):3133-56. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2022.2146983
• dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2146983
• dc.identifier.issn 1369-118X
• dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/56827
• dc.language.iso eng
• dc.publisher Taylor & Francis
• dc.relation.ispartof Information, Communication & Society. 2023;26(16):3133-56.
• dc.rights © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
• dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
• dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• dc.subject.keyword COVID-19
• dc.subject.keyword misinformation
• dc.subject.keyword worry
• dc.subject.keyword trust
• dc.title Perceived prevalence of misinformation fuels worries about COVID-19: a cross-country, multi-method investigation
• dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
• dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion