Can Correction Messages Reduce the Spread of Fake News on Social Media? The Impact of Information Updates on the Effectiveness of Corrections

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: King, Kelvin K.; Escobari, Diego
• 署名单位: Syracuse University; University of Texas System; University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0742-1222
• DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2025.2520174
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 706-736
• 关键词: self-efficacy; misinformation; deception; diffusion; emotions; DESIGN; format; words; user; no

摘要

Although government agencies and fact-checking organizations issue correction messages to mitigate misinformation dissemination on social media, their efforts have been largely ineffective. Drawing on Information Manipulation Theory (IMT) and information extracted from over 84 million tweets, we examine the impact of correction messages and explore how different information updates affect their effectiveness. Our empirical approach differentiates between subpopulations of correction messages. The results support the existence of two distinct types: correction messages that significantly mitigate the spread of fake news-a 1 percent increase in effective messages decreases the spread of fake news by 0.89 percent; and those that amplify the misinformation-a 1 percent increase in ineffective messages increases the spread of fake news by 1.37 percent. Despite the higher count of effective correction messages, they are less potent than their ineffective counterparts. Our study extends the tenets of IMT to correction messages to identify effective platform interventions and highlight the efficacy of information updates in reducing the spread of fake news. Furthermore, it offers significant insights to social media platforms and fact-checking organizations on designing and deploying effective corrections.