ABSTRACT

In recent times, distorted information has frequently been discussed as a serious problem for democracies. There are concerns that such information spreading via social media may lead to severe effects, such as a decline in social cohesion. Apart from platforms and journalistic organizations, users play a decisive role in preventing the spread of distorted information by flagging, reporting or countering. The current study contributes to the literature by providing new insights into users’ motivations for engaging in this important task. Building on literature on biased perceptions and presumed influences, and using a German random-quota survey (N = 2,973) we showed that the countering of distorted information is influenced by hostile media perceptions and the presumed influence on the individual but not by perceived influences on others. If users experience personal attacks online and perceive user-generated content as important for their own opinion formation, they are more likely to become active in fighting distorted information.

摘要

最近，扭曲的信息经常被讨论为民主国家的一个严重问题。有人担心，通过社交媒体传播的此类信息可能会导致严重影响，例如社会凝聚力下降。除了平台和新闻机构，用户通过标记、报告或反击在防止扭曲信息传播方面发挥着决定性作用。当前的研究通过对用户参与这项重要任务的动机提供新的见解，为文献做出了贡献。基于关于偏见认知和推定影响的文献，并使用德国随机配额调查 (N = 2,973)，我们表明，对扭曲信息的反击受敌对媒体认知和对个人的推定影响的影响，但不受对个人的感知影响的影响其他。