This working paper sheds light on the demographic and situational factors that influence the likelihood of sharing fake news on social media platforms. The paper uses a representative sample of 1,002 US adults from the Pew Research Center for the study. The research revealed the relationships between the probability of sharing fake news articles and predictor variables such as demographics, and situational factors. It offered evidence on the prototype user who contributed to the spread of misinformation and what that implied for professional journalism.
Highlights:
- With regard to the demographic and situational variables influencing the sharing of fake news, the study through a logistic regression analysis revealed that the probability of sharing political fake news online is higher among males than females. It also revealed that sharing political fake news is mostly done by the older users' as interest in political news increases with age.
- People with low incomes are also more likely to share political fake news. This is correlated with the fact that income leads to access to education which increases people's capacities to separate fact from fiction.
- When it comes to ideology, democrats are less likely to spread fake news than independent voters. However, no statistical difference was found in the probability to share political fake news between democrats and republicans.
- The study also found that an increasing perception of online fake news increases the probability of sharing it. Many readers are unaware of the effects of social media manipulation and information on the net has replaced professional journalism and expert advice. In this context, it was found that professional journalism and fact-checking are increasingly important tools to mitigate to spread the fake news and influence consumer behaviour on social media.