COVID-19 as infodemic: The impact of political orientation and open-mindedness on the discernment of misinformation in WhatsApp
Messaging applications are changing the communication landscape in emerging countries. While offering speed and affordability, these solutions have also opened the way for the spread of misinformation. Aiming to better understand the dynamics of COVID-19 as infodemic, we asked Brazilian participants...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
Society for Judgment and Decision Making
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/e8afee1546ee44ee90d326d91381b6ec |
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| Sumario: | Messaging
applications are changing the communication landscape in emerging countries.
While offering speed and affordability, these solutions have also opened the
way for the spread of misinformation. Aiming to better understand the dynamics
of COVID-19 as infodemic, we asked Brazilian participants (n=1007) to report
the perceived accuracy of 20 messages (10 true and 10 false). Each message was
randomly presented within five fictitious WhatsApp group chats of varying
political orientation. Correlational analyses revealed that right-wing
participants had lower levels of truth discernment as did those with greater
trust in social media as a reliable source of coronavirus information.
Conversely, open-minded thinking about evidence and trust in the WHO and
traditional media was positively associated with truth discernment. Familiarity
with the content consistently increased perceived truthness for both true and
false messages. Results point to the nefarious effects of COVID-19
politicization and underline the importance of promoting the ability to
recognize and value new evidence as well as enhancing trust in international
agencies and traditional media. |
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