social media

Self-certification: A novel method for increasing sharing discernment on social media

The proliferation of misinformation on social media platforms has given rise to growing demands for effective intervention strategies that increase sharing discernment (i.e. increase the difference in the probability of sharing true posts relative to …

Sensitivity to online consensus effects within individuals and claim types

When reasoning about a claim, it makes sense to be more persuaded if lots of other people agree. But, there are many factors that make weighing the evidence behind a consensus complicated. For example, a consensus might be more or less informative …

Self-censorship appears to be an effective way of reducing the spread of misinformation on social media

There is increasing pressure on social media companies to reduce the spread of misinformation on their platforms. However, they would prefer not to be the arbiters of truth as the truth can be subjective or otherwise hard to determine. Instead, they …

Online communication to the ingroup and the outgroup: The role of identity in the "what" and "why" of information sharing

How and why do people share opinions online? In research conducted offline, the social identity of the audience is a key factor: whether they are composed of one’s ingroup or outgroup affects what people share and why. Do people behave similarly and …