A survey quantifying the relative contribution of the confusion-based, preference-based and inattention-based accounts to the willingness to share false headlines on social media found that the inattention-based account explains 51.2% of sharing, the confusion-based account explains 33.1% of sharing, and the preference-based account explains 15.8% of sharing. 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 - Confusion-based account
 - Inattention-based account
 - Preference-based account

Theories of Social Media Misinformation Sharing

Pennycook, G., Epstein, Z., Mosleh, M., Arechar, A. A., Eckles, D., & Rand, D. G. (2021). Shifting attention to accuracy can reduce misinformation online. Nature, 592(7855), 590–595. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03344-2

Shifting attention to accuracy can reduce misinformation online

The confusion-based account of social media misinformation sharing proposes that people share misinformation because they accidentally believe that the misinformation is accurate.

Confusion-Based Account of Social Media Misinformation Sharing

The preference-based account of social media misinformation sharing proposes that people knowingly share misinformation because they care less about accuracy than other factors. 

Preference-Based Account of Social Media Misinformation Sharing

Misinformation can spread because people are distracted by information other than accuracy. Some of these could include: party alignment, social relevance, or social reinforcement. 

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