ABSTRACT

Misinformation on social media pertaining to COVID-19 poses a great threat to public health. The active correction of misinformation by social media users and an understanding of the drivers of such behavior can help solve this ongoing issue. Drawing on the influence of presumed influence model and cognitive appraisal theory, an online experiment (N = 400) was conducted to examine how exposure to corrective messages with regard to COVID-19 misinformation induced individuals’ threat appraisals of the influence of the misinformation on others and how these threat appraisals and the corresponding emotional responses motivated individuals to take corrective actions. The results suggested that people’s perceptions of the severity of the influence of misinformation on others engendered anticipated guilt, which, in turn, strengthened their intentions to correct misinformation related to COVID-19. The study offers guidance on how to effectively craft a corrective message to encourage audiences to counter misinformation together.

摘要

社交媒体上与 COVID-19 有关的错误信息对公众健康构成了巨大威胁。社交媒体用户对错误信息的积极纠正以及对此类行为驱动因素的理解有助于解决这一持续存在的问题。借鉴推定影响模型和认知评价理论的影响，在线实验（N= 400) 进行了研究，以检查与 COVID-19 错误信息有关的纠正性信息如何导致个人对错误信息对其他人的影响进行威胁评估，以及这些威胁评估和相应的情绪反应如何促使个人采取纠正措施。结果表明，人们对错误信息对其他人影响的严重性的看法产生了预期的内疚感，这反过来又加强了他们纠正与 COVID-19 相关的错误信息的意图。该研究为如何有效地制作纠正信息以鼓励受众共同应对错误信息提供了指导。