Recognise misinformation and verify before sharing: a reasoned action and information literacy perspective

M. Laeeq Khan and Ika Karlina Idris

Behaviour and Information Technology, 2019, vol. 38, issue 12, 1194-1212

Abstract: The menace of misinformation online has gained considerable media attention and plausible solutions for combatting misinformation have often been less than satisfactory. In an environment of ubiquitous online social sharing, we contend that it is the individuals that can play a major role in halting the spread of misinformation. We conducted a survey (n = 396) to illuminate the factors that predict (i) the perceived ability to recognise false information on social media, and (ii) the behaviour of sharing of information without verification. A set of regression analyses reveal that the perceived self-efficacy to detect misinformation on social media is predicted by income and level of education, Internet skills of information seeking and verification, and attitude towards information verification. We also found that sharing of information on social media without verification is predicted by Internet experience, Internet skills of information seeking, sharing, and verification, attitude towards information verification, and belief in the reliability of information. Recommendations regarding information literacy, the role of individuals as media gatekeepers who verify social media information, and the importance of independent corroboration are discussed.

Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/0144929X.2019.1578828 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:tbitxx:v:38:y:2019:i:12:p:1194-1212

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/tbit20

DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2019.1578828

Access Statistics for this article

Behaviour and Information Technology is currently edited by Dr Panos P Markopoulos

More articles in Behaviour and Information Technology from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().