May 15, 2024

Misinformation has been prolific in the past few years, disseminated through various online mediums like social media and messaging platforms. Authorities have begun to scrutinise messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and WeChat, in an effort to prevent the further spread of misleading content.

There are several factors influencing the spread of misinformation on messaging apps. Assistant Professor Ozan Kuru (NUS Communications and New Media) explores these factors in his survey study, “Reconsidering Misinformation in WhatsApp Groups: Informational and Social Predictors of Risk Perceptions and Corrections” (International Journal of Communication, 2023). The survey, conducted with WhatsApp users in Singapore, Turkey, and the United States, aimed at understanding the relationship between the amount of shared information and the social dynamics seen within messaging groups.

Based on their findings, Kuru and his fellow researchers propose a conceptual model that identifies two main factors as the predictors of misinformation outcomes within WhatsApp groups – first, the informational activity observed between users, and second, the levels of trust among group members. After computing their research findings using structural equation models, the researchers found that actively contributing content (as opposed to passive content checking) positively predicted exposure to (mis)information, which, in turn, positively influenced risk perceptions and social corrections. Additionally, smaller and closer-knit groups were seen to exhibit higher levels of group trust, lower risk perceptions, and increased social corrections.

Read the article here: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19590