Is Sensationalist Disinformation More Effective? Three Facilitating Factors at the National, Individual, and Situational Level

Abstract

Throughout the current global health crisis, false and misleading content has proliferated on social media. Previous research indicates that users of social media primarily share information that contains attentiongrabbing elements. Because sensationalist elements are prevalent in disinformation, this study examines the role of sensationalism in supporting disinformation. We conducted survey experiments in six countries (N = 7,009), presenting versions of a false claim that differed in their degree of sensationalism. We varied three contextual conditions for disinformation support: whether respondents grew up in a tabloid-oriented national news culture, whether they indicated individual usage preferences for tabloid and alternative media, and how they rated their situational uncertainty during the pandemic. Our results show a weak influence of tabloidized cultures, but people who frequently use tabloid or alternative media are more likely to agree with disinformation. Users who are uncertain about what is true and what is false are also more likely to agree with disinformation, especially when it is presented sensationally. The average user, however, is more likely to agree with disinformation that is presented neutrally. This finding is concerning, as disinformation presented in a sober manner is much harder to detect by those who want to fight the "infodemic. "

Disinformation narratives in Spain: reach, impact and spreading patterns

“…This also involves news media, who sometimes act, willingly or not, as amplifiers of such narratives (Waisbord, 2018). Consequently, news media, which have been absorbed by the attention economy (Wu, 2020) and are currently in search of successful business models (Newman et al, 2022), contribute to said diffusion by utilising techniques associated with sensationalism that increase the effectiveness of misinformation disseminated (Staender et al, 2021). Moreover, the role of the audience in disinformation spreading patterns needs to be also taken into account.…”

How Personal Values Count in Misleading News Sharing with Moral Content

“…Recent studies highlighted that news sensationalism led people to trust and fall into misinformation compared to neutral style, especially when they feel a state of uncertainty, and also when they used alternative media to inform [ 45 ]; others instead highlighted how the effect of biased news can decrease when people are induced to evaluate news critically [ 46 ].…”