“It’s us against them up there”: Spreading online disinformation as populist collective action

Abstract

Although recent literature has increasingly captured the role of users in the information disorder, we still do not fully understand why people spread disinformation. Therefore, the current study sheds some light on the characteristics and motivations of people who contribute to the spreading of disinformation. Following the literature on collective action, the spreading of disinformation is conceptualized as populist collective action which is influenced by a populist identity, injustice perceptions, participatory efficacy, and alternative media use. These assumptions are tested against a representative survey of German users. The analysis reveals the spreading of disinformation to be mainly predicted by anger towards the government and the use of alternative media for political news. The theoretical and societal implications of these findings are discussed.