Fake news has led to a polarized society as evidenced by diametrically opposed perceptions of and reactions to global events such as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and presidential campaigns. Popular press has linked individuals’ political beliefs and cultural values to the extent to which they believe in false content shared on social networking sites (SNS). However, sweeping generalizations run the risk of helping exacerbate divisiveness in already polarized societies. This study examines the effects of individuals’ political beliefs and espoused cultural values on fake news believability using a repeated-measures design (that exposes individuals to a variety of fake news scenarios). Results from online questionnaire-based survey data collected from participants in the US and India help confirm that conservative individuals tend to exhibit increasing fake news believability and show that collectivists tend to do the same. This study advances knowledge on characteristics that make individuals more susceptible to lending credence to fake news. In addition, this study explores the influence exerted by control variables (i.e., age, sex, and Internet usage). Findings are used to provide implications for theory as well as actionable insights.

假新闻导致社会两极分化，人们对 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行和总统竞选等全球事件的看法和反应截然相反。大众媒体将个人的政治信仰和文化价值观与他们相信社交网站 (SNS) 上共享的虚假内容的程度联系起来。然而，笼统的概括可能会加剧已经两极分化的社会的分裂。本研究使用重复测量设计（将个人暴露于各种假新闻场景）来检验个人政治信仰和拥护的文化价值观对假新闻可信度的影响。从美国和印度的参与者收集的基于在线问卷的调查数据的结果有助于证实保守派个人倾向于表现出越来越高的假新闻可信度，并表明集体主义者倾向于这样做。这项研究推进了有关使个人更容易相信假新闻的特征的知识。此外，本研究探讨了控制变量（即年龄、性别和互联网使用情况）所产生的影响。调查结果用于提供对理论的影响以及可操作的见解。本研究探讨了控制变量（即年龄、性别和互联网使用情况）所产生的影响。调查结果用于提供对理论的影响以及可操作的见解。本研究探讨了控制变量（即年龄、性别和互联网使用情况）所产生的影响。调查结果用于提供对理论的影响以及可操作的见解。