With the circulation of misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization has raised concerns about an “infodemic,” which exacerbates people’s misperceptions and deters preventive measures. Against this backdrop, this study examined the conditional indirect effect of social media use and discussion heterogeneity preference on COVID-19-related misinformation beliefs in the United States, using a national survey. Findings suggested that social media use was positively associated with misinformation beliefs, while discussion heterogeneity preference was negatively associated with misinformation beliefs. Furthermore, worry of COVID-19 was found to be a significant mediator as both associations became more significant when mediated through worry. In addition, faith in scientists served as a moderator that mitigated the indirect effect of discussion heterogeneity preference on misinformation beliefs. That is, among those who had stronger faiths in scientists, the indirect effect of discussion heterogeneity preference on misinformation belief became more negative. The findings revealed communication and psychological factors associated with COVID-19-related misinformation beliefs and provided insights into coping strategies during the pandemic.

随着有关 COVID-19 大流行的错误信息的传播，世界卫生组织对“信息流行病”提出了担忧，这加剧了人们的误解并阻碍了预防措施。在此背景下，本研究通过一项全国调查，检验了社交媒体使用和讨论异质性偏好对美国 COVID-19 相关错误信息信念的条件间接影响。调查结果表明，社交媒体的使用与错误信息信念呈正相关，而讨论异质性偏好与错误信息信念呈负相关。此外，人们发现对 COVID-19 的担忧是一个重要的中介因素，因为当通过担忧进行调节时，这两种关联都变得更加重要。此外，对科学家的信心起到了调节作用，减轻了讨论异质性偏好对错误信息信念的间接影响。也就是说，在那些对科学家有更强信心的人中，讨论异质性偏好对错误信息信念的间接影响变得更加消极。调查结果揭示了与 COVID-19 相关的错误信息信念相关的沟通和心理因素，并提供了对大流行期间应对策略的见解。