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Scientific authority cues increase the spread of misinformation
Ismail Harrando1, Rodrigo Reyes Cordova1, Achim Edelmann1
1Médialab, Sciences Po, Paris 75007, France.
Summary
Scientific authority cues on social media increase sharing, even for misinformation. These cues, like mentions of scientific expertise, can be exploited to spread false content, especially among right-leaning users.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Information Science
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Misinformation continues to spread on social media despite ongoing efforts to combat it.
- Individuals often share false content unintentionally due to cognitive biases triggered by contextual cues, rather than deliberate intent.
- Scientific Authority Cues (SACs) are mentions of entities signaling scientific expertise or findings, potentially influencing content credibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how Scientific Authority Cues affect the sharing of fact-checked content on social media.
- To analyze the impact of SACs on content credibility and sharing behavior.
- To understand the role of political leaning and content veracity in the effect of SACs.
Main Methods:
- Large-scale behavioral data analysis of 8.7 million tweets linking to fact-checked content on Twitter (now X) from 2010-2023.
- A preregistered experimental study with 1,187 U.S. participants assessing headline sharing willingness.
- Statistical mediation analysis to explore the role of perceived accuracy, trust, and familiarity.
Main Results:
- Tweets with Scientific Authority Cues were shared more frequently, particularly those linking to low-veracity content or posted by right-leaning users.
- Headlines attributing claims to scientific entities increased willingness to share among participants.
- Perceived accuracy statistically mediated the effect of SACs on sharing, influenced by trust and familiarity.
Conclusions:
- Invoking scientific authority on social media presents a double-edged sword.
- In polarized online environments, cues signaling scientific credibility can be co-opted to amplify misinformation.
- Understanding the psychological mechanisms behind SACs is crucial for developing effective misinformation mitigation strategies.
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