Modeling the Factors That Stimulates the Circulation of Online Misinformation in a Contemporary Digital Age

This study modeled the factors that influence misinformation spreading behavior among social media users, with a focus on Nigerian social media users. We used an online survey to sample 385 social media users using a chain referral approach. Smart PLS structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. We found the ease of use to be the strongest predictor of misinformation propagation, suggesting that the ease of production and distribution of information on social media supports the spreading of misinformation. The second most significant factor was found to be a lack of mindfulness, implying that when users are not mindful, their tendency to share misinformation is high. Religiosity was the third strongest predictor, inferring that religiously inclined messages rarely get authenticated. The social comparison was the fourth most significant factor, denoting that the drive to stay competitive results in a strong motivation to enhance oneself, and in the quest to enhance oneself, social media users are more inclined to ignore authentication. Self-disclosure was the fifth most significant antecedent, meaning that people who are prone to self-disclosure on social networking sites are more likely to spread false information. Exploration was the sixth most important factor found, implying that the continuous exploration of information could result in information strain, which increases the probability of sharing fake news. Enjoyment was the seventh most significant factor, implying that exciting content gets shared without much authentication on social media. On the other hand, trust in SNS was not found to be related to misinformation spreading. We can only draw conclusions based on the variables we have discovered and investigated. Future research on the spread of falsehood on social media may need to include more variables.

Automated summary

This study modeled the factors that influence misinformation spreading behavior among social media users, with a focus on Nigerian social media users. The study found that the ease of use, a lack of mindfulness, religiosity, social comparison, self-disclosure, exploration, and enjoyment are significant predictors of misinformation propagation. Trust in social networking sites was not found to be related to misinformation spreading.