Why People Share Fake News on Social Media
People may feel less unethical about sharing misinformation on social media if they repeatedly encounter the fake news item, even when they don't believe it, according to a study involving more than 2,500 people.
The researchers, including one of Indian Origin Medha Raj from the University of Southern California in the US said seeing a fake headline just once leads individuals to temper their disapproval of the misinformation when they see it a second, third, or fourth time.
As part of the study, published in the journal Psychological Science, the researchers asked online survey participants to rate how unethical or acceptable they thought it was to publish a fake headline, and the likelihood that they would "like", share, and block or unfollow the person who posted it.
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