Who shares misinformation on social media? A meta-analysis of individual traits related to misinformation sharing

Abstract

An important step in developing effective interventions to stop the spread of misinformation is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of people who are likely to share misinformation on social media. Accordingly, we conducted a meta-analysis of 60 articles on the individual traits of people who share misinformation. Results showed that the passing time motivation (r = 0.524) had the strongest positive relationship with misinformation sharing, whereas trust in information (r = 0.437) and the socialization motivation (r = 0.350) had a large positive effect. The motivations for entertainment (r = 0.276) and altruism (r = 0.220), and trust in social media (r = 0.219) all had medium positive effects. Prior exposure to misinformation (r = 0.191) and political conservatism (r = 0.119) both had a small positive association with misinformation sharing, whereas the personality trait of agreeableness (r = −0.094) had a weak negative association with misinformation sharing. Information literacy (r = −0.229) exerted a medium negative effect, but new media literacy was not significantly related to misinformation sharing. Finally, contextual and methodological factors emerged as important moderators. Older people and women were more likely to spread health misinformation, whereas younger people and men were more likely to share political misinformation. Overall, this study indicates that misinformation sharing is more strongly related to psychological traits than to personality and demographic traits. Moreover, the uses and gratifications theory, theories related to trust and credibility, and the illusory truth effect may well explain misinformation sharing in the online space.