Why does misinformation spread more effectively than information? Emotion reportedly predicts easier acceptance and efficacy reportedly predicts faster spread. However, scientific information is not designed to appeal to either of these. Scientific reports are often inconclusive and suggest that further research is needed, rather than offer conclusions and efficacious solutions. They are also designed to mitigate bias, producing work that can only manipulate emotions as well as its topic does. There may be cause to believe that the spread of misinformation is not only a matter of what misinformation offers to knowledge processing, but also what factual information fails to offer.

Facts Are Not Designed to be Spread

Higher efficacy of an inaccurate protective action may play an undesirable role by promoting misinformation sharing on social media. Findings suggests that efficacy should be considered as one of the predictors of quickly spreadable information, including misinformation.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Efficacy information is perceived as possessing high utility, which is crucial in predicting behavioral outcomes. Research found that misinformation with high efficacy increased sharing intention to a greater extent than that with low efficacy. Individuals are more likely to express an intent to share information with their friends and family via social media when the message contains details on highly effective and relatively easy protective actions. 

Efficacy Information and Sharing Intention

Song, H., So, J., Shim, M., Kim, J., Kim, J., & Lee, K. (2023). What message features influence the intention to share misinformation about COVID-19 on social media? The role of efficacy and novelty. Computers in Human Behavior, 138, 107439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107439

Learn Before

Related

Learn After