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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Misinformation article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article.
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Concerns have been raised previously about AI-generated content in this article. This is a procedural talk page section to discuss it. There is no need to ping me in response. Read WP:AISIGNS for more information for why this is tagged. Rationale: these 2025 edits; note WP:AISIGNS in superficial analyses, vocab distro typical of LLM output, etcGnomingstuff (talk) 14:52, 18 May 2026 (UTC)Reply
Factors Influencing Susceptibility to Misinformation
Various demographic, cognitive, social, and technological factors can influence an individual's susceptibility to misinformation. This section examines how age, political ideology, and algorithms may affect vulnerability to false or misleading information.
Research suggests that age can be a significant factor in how individuals process and respond to misinformation. Some researchers have suggested that older individuals are more susceptible to misinformation than younger individuals due to cognitive decline.
Other studies have found that, while this may be a factor, the issue is more complex than simply aging and experiencing cognitive decline. One notable area where cognitive decline is prevalent is repeated exposure to misinformation. A study found that older adults are more likely than younger adults to believe misinformation after repeated exposure, known as the illusory truth effect.
This is linked to declines in memory and analytical reasoning, which can make it more challenging for older adults to distinguish between true and false information.
A 2020 review about age and misinformation concludes that social change contributes to older adults' susceptibility to misinformation. Older adults’ social networks shrink, and they are more trusting of friends and family. This trust can be misplaced, however, as friends and family may share inaccurate or misleading information online, but older adults may assume it is true because it is shared by someone they trust. Research also indicates that older adults are more vulnerable to deception than younger adults. This can make them especially vulnerable to online content that is clickbait or seeks to deceive people.
Another commonly found explanation for older adults’ susceptibility to misinformation is a lack of digital literacy. According to a nationally representative study of U.S. adults by Pew Research Center from 2023, 61% of adults aged 65 years or older own a smartphone, 45% use social media, and 44% own a tablet computer. All three numbers represent an increase over the last decade, indicating that older adults are spending more time online, thereby increasing their potential exposure to misinformation.
Research indicates that older adults often struggle to identify internet hoaxes and distinguish between advertorial and editorial content.
This exposes older adults to more fringe news sources, complicating the issue of correcting misinformed beliefs.
None
These factors have contributed to older adults sharing more misinformation than other demographics, a trend that may increase as the American population ages.
The same Current Directions in Psychological Science source as above
Political ideology can significantly shape how individuals encounter, process, and respond to misinformation, with implications for both information consumption patterns and cognitive processing.
Research from 2022 suggests that motivated reasoning, or confirmation bias—the tendency to accept information that supports pre-existing beliefs while rejecting contradictory views—influences information processing, regardless of political affiliation.
This cognitive bias fosters an environment where misinformation that aligns with one’s view thrives, creating echo chambers. Researchers explored the relationship between partisanship, the presence of an echo chamber, and vulnerability to misinformation, finding a strong correlation between right-wing partisanship and the sharing of online misinformation.
They also discovered a similar trend among left-leaning users. Similar research has found that right- and left-wing partisans exhibit similar levels of metacognitive awareness, which refers to individuals' conscious awareness of their own thoughts and mental processes.
In a study that asked participants to identify news headlines as true or false, both Democrats and Republicans admitted to occasionally suspecting they were wrong.
Researchers also examined the relationship between ideological extremity and susceptibility to misinformation, finding that ideological extremity on both sides of the political spectrum predicts greater receptivity to misinformation.
Research suggests that humans are naturally drawn to emotionally charged content, and algorithms perpetuate a cycle in which emotionally charged misinformation is disproportionately promoted on social media platforms.
Additionally, most social media users possess a limited understanding of how algorithms curate their information feeds.
The same Current Opinion in Psychology source as above
This knowledge gap makes it difficult for users to recognize potential biases on their social media feeds or to implement strategies to diversify the content they are exposed to. In response, some researchers and organizations call for modifications to algorithmic systems to help reduce the amplification of misinformation.
Research shows that susceptibility to misinformation can be influenced by several factors, including cognitive biases, emotional responses, social dynamics, and media literacy levels.
None
Upon a further look, it turns out that all the content shown above may have been introduced in this April 2025 revision to a user subpage.
Differences between user subpage and what appeared on the article
===Ageandsusceptibilitytomisinformation===Research suggests that age can be a significant factor in how individuals process and respond to misinformation. Some researchers have suggested that older individuals are more susceptible to misinformation than younger individuals due to cognitive decline. Other studies have found that, while this may be a factor, the issue is more complex than simply aging and experiencing cognitive decline. One notable area where cognitive decline is prevalent is repeated exposure to misinformation. A study found that older adults are more likely than younger adults to believe misinformation after repeated exposure, known as the [[illusory truth effect]]. This is linked to declines in memory and analytical reasoning, which can make it more challenging for older adults to distinguish between true and false information.
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====Age====Research suggests that age can be a significant factor in how individuals process and respond to misinformation. Some researchers have suggested that older individuals are more susceptible to misinformation than younger individuals due to cognitive decline. Other studies have found that, while this may be a factor, the issue is more complex than simply aging and experiencing cognitive decline. One notable area where cognitive decline is prevalent is repeated exposure to misinformation. A study found that older adults are more likely than younger adults to believe misinformation after repeated exposure, known as the [[illusory truth effect]]. This is linked to declines in memory and analytical reasoning, which can make it more challenging for older adults to distinguish between true and false information.
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A secondfactorcontributingtoolderadults’susceptibilitytomisinformationissocialchange. Researchindicatesthatinterpersonaltrustincreaseswithage. Older adults’ social networks shrink, and they are more trusting of friends and family. This trust can be misplaced, however, as friends and family may share inaccurate or misleading information online, but older adults may assume it is true because it is shared by someone they trust. Research also indicates that older adults are more vulnerable to deception than younger adults. This can make them especially vulnerable to online content that is clickbait or seeks to deceive people.
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A 2020reviewaboutageandmisinformationconcludesthatsocialchangecontributestoolderadults'susceptibilitytomisinformation. Older adults’ social networks shrink, and they are more trusting of friends and family. This trust can be misplaced, however, as friends and family may share inaccurate or misleading information online, but older adults may assume it is true because it is shared by someone they trust. Research also indicates that older adults are more vulnerable to deception than younger adults. This can make them especially vulnerable to online content that is clickbait or seeks to deceive people.
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Another commonly found explanation for older adults’ susceptibility to misinformation is a lack of digital literacy. According to thePewResearchCenter,61%ofadultsaged65yearsorolderownasmartphone,45%usesocialmedia,and44%ownatabletcomputer. Allthreenumbersrepresentanincreaseoverthelastdecade,indicatingthatolderadultsarespendingmoretimeonline,therebyincreasingtheirpotentialexposuretomisinformation. Researchindicatesthatolderadultsoftenstruggletoidentifyinternethoaxesanddistinguishbetweenadvertorialandeditorialcontent. Thisexposesolderadultstomorefringenewssources,complicatingtheissueofcorrectingmisinformedbeliefs.Thesefactorshavecontributedtoolderadultssharingmoremisinformationthanotherdemographics,atrendthatmayincreaseastheAmericanpopulationages.
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Another commonly found explanation for older adults’ susceptibility to misinformation is a lack of digital literacy. According to anationallyrepresentativestudyofU.S. adultsbyPewResearchCenterfrom2023,61%ofadultsaged65yearsorolderownasmartphone,45%usesocialmedia,and44%ownatabletcomputer. Allthreenumbersrepresentanincreaseoverthelastdecade,indicatingthatolderadultsarespendingmoretimeonline,therebyincreasingtheirpotentialexposuretomisinformation. Researchindicatesthatolderadultsoftenstruggletoidentifyinternethoaxesanddistinguishbetweenadvertorialandeditorialcontent. Thisexposesolderadultstomorefringenewssources,complicatingtheissueofcorrectingmisinformedbeliefs.Thesefactorshavecontributedtoolderadultssharingmoremisinformationthanotherdemographics,atrendthatmayincreaseastheAmericanpopulationages.
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===Politicalideologyandsusceptibilitytomisinformation===Politicalideologycansignificantlyshapehowindividualsencounter,process,andrespondtomisinformation,withimplicationsforbothinformationconsumptionpatternsandcognitiveprocessing.Recentresearchsuggests that motivated reasoning, or confirmation bias—the tendency to accept information that supports pre-existing beliefs while rejecting contradictory views—influences information processing, regardless of political affiliation.
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====Politicalideologyandconfirmationbias====Politicalideologycansignificantlyshapehowindividualsencounter,process,andrespondtomisinformation,withimplicationsforbothinformationconsumptionpatternsandcognitiveprocessing.Researchfrom2022suggests that motivated reasoning, or confirmation bias—the tendency to accept information that supports pre-existing beliefs while rejecting contradictory views—influences information processing, regardless of political affiliation.
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This cognitive bias fosters an environment where misinformation that aligns with one’s view thrives, creating echo chambers. Researchers explored the relationship between partisanship, the presence of an echo chamber, and vulnerability to misinformation, finding a strong correlation between right-wing partisanship and the sharing of online misinformation. They also discovered a similar trend among left-leaning users. Similar research has found that right- and left-wing partisans exhibit similar levels of metacognitive awareness, which refers to individuals' conscious awareness of their own thoughts and mental processes. In a study that asked participants to identify news headlines as true or false, both Democrats and Republicans admitted to occasionally suspecting they were wrong.
+
This cognitive bias fosters an environment where misinformation that aligns with one’s view thrives, creating echo chambers. Researchers explored the relationship between partisanship, the presence of an echo chamber, and vulnerability to misinformation, finding a strong correlation between right-wing partisanship and the sharing of online misinformation. They also discovered a similar trend among left-leaning users. Similar research has found that right- and left-wing partisans exhibit similar levels of metacognitive awareness, which refers to individuals' conscious awareness of their own thoughts and mental processes. In a study that asked participants to identify news headlines as true or false, both Democrats and Republicans admitted to occasionally suspecting they were wrong.
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Researchers also examined the relationship between ideological extremity and susceptibility to misinformation, finding that ideological extremity on both sides of the political spectrum predicts greater receptivity to misinformation. This finding, coupled with confirmation bias, contributes to a media ecosystem where misinformation can thrive.
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Researchers also examined the relationship between ideological extremity and susceptibility to misinformation, finding that ideological extremity on both sides of the political spectrum predicts greater receptivity to misinformation. This finding, coupled with confirmation bias, contributes to a media ecosystem where misinformation can thrive.
I have a conflict of interest here and am requesting rather than making this edit.
The issue: In § Study the sentence "The general study of misinformation and disinformation is by now also common across various academic disciplines, including sociology, communication, computer science, and political science." carries {{citation needed|date=March 2026}} and has no reference attached. The tag is asking for a source showing that misinformation research is carried out across disciplines rather than within one. The two references earlier in the same paragraph do not supply it: they are a 2017 EDUCAUSE Review piece ("Info-Environmentalism: An Introduction") and a 2017 item from Digital Learning and Inquiry ("Information Environmentalism"), both about efforts to clean up the information environment, not about the disciplinary spread of the research field.
Proposed change: Replace the tagged sentence with the same sentence carrying a reference, and remove the tag:
The general study of misinformation and disinformation is by now also common across various academic disciplines, including sociology, communication, computer science, and political science.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ferrara |first1=Emilio |last2=Cresci |first2=Stefano |last3=Luceri |first3=Luca |year=2020 |title=Misinformation, manipulation, and abuse on social media in the era of COVID-19 |journal=Journal of Computational Social Science |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=271–277 |doi=10.1007/s42001-020-00094-5}}</ref>
Source: Ferrara, Emilio; Cresci, Stefano; Luceri, Luca (2020). "Misinformation, manipulation, and abuse on social media in the era of COVID-19". Journal of Computational Social Science 3(2): 271–277. doi:10.1007/s42001-020-00094-5. Stating the limit plainly: it is a seven-page article in a computational social science journal, so it supports the cross-disciplinary framing and the computational and social-science ends of it directly, but it does not itself enumerate sociology, communication, computer science and political science as the article sentence does. If a reviewer prefers a source that names the constituent disciplines, Camargo and Simon, "Mis- and disinformation studies are too big to fail: Six suggestions for the field's future" (Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review), is already cited in the next paragraph of this section and may serve better; I would be content to see it used instead of the citation I am proposing.
Disclosure: The citation I am proposing is to work I co-authored (Emilio Ferrara, Stefano Cresci, Luca Luceri). The alternative I mention, Camargo and Simon, is not my work and is already on the page. See User:Emilio Ferrara.
NDeclined This is one of 37 COI edit requests placed on the same day in talk pages for 37 different articles asking for this editor's own research to be placed in Wikipedia articles. It's never a good look asking to place your research into so many articles. Spintendo17:53, 8 August 2026 (UTC)Reply
Wiki Education assignment: SPC 1017 - Fundamentals of Speech Communication
level-5 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation–supported course assignment, between 13 January 2026 and 7 May 2026. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): ElseyLynn (article contribs).
Declined This is one of 37 COI edit requests placed on the same day in talk pages for 37 different articles asking for this editor's own research to be placed in Wikipedia articles. It's never a good look asking to place your research into so many articles. Spintendo 17:53, 8 August 2026 (UTC)