Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development have identified who is most susceptible to online misinformation and why. For instance, individuals with higher levels of education are just as likely to fall for misinformation as those with a lower level of education.
The work, published in the journal PNAS, provides important information for theory building and designing interventions. Nearly five billion people worldwide receive their news from social media, and the impact of misinformationβespecially on electionsβis of increasing concern.
Despite extensive research, it remains largely unclear who is particularly vulnerable to misinformation and why.
The doctoral candidate at the Center for Adaptive Rationality researches misinformation and decision-making behavior online. This contradicts the widespread belief that more educated individuals are likely to be less susceptible to misinformation, especially as higher education teaches us critical thinking.
The study also challenges assumptions about age and misinformation. While older adults are often portrayed as more vulnerable to fake news, the analysis found that they were actually better than younger adults at distinguishing between true and false headlines.
