The goal of the first study was to find correlational links between personality traits and misinformation susceptibility. In the study, participants were shown 30 COVID-19 headlines (15 true, 15 false) The study contained two groups of participants. One group (the "accuracy group") was told to rate the accuracy of the headlines, while the other group (the "sharing" group) was asked how likely they were to share each headline. The researchers were looking for discernment, which was the difference in accuracy/sharing probability ratings between true and false headlines. They also used tests and questionnaires to assess potential moderating factors of discernment. Moderating factors that were assessed were:

• distance from COVID-19 hotspots
• baseline scientific knowledge
• tendency to rely on intuition,
• tendency to utilize medical treatments
• party alignment.

An attention check was used to ensure thorough reading.