How People Process Different Types of Misinformation on Social Media: A Taxonomy Based on Falsity Level and Evidence Type

Abstract

Emerging communication technologies have seen the proliferation of misleading claims, untruthful narratives, and conspiracies. To map different kinds of misinformation in today’s media landscape, this study proposes a taxonomy of misinformation varying along two dimensions, falsity level and evidence type. The level of falsity ranges from high (fabricated content) to low (misused content), and the type of evidence can be statistical and/or narrative. Using COVID-19 vaccines as cases, the results from an online experiment showed that misused misinformation was perceived as less false than fabricated misinformation and resulted in higher sharing intentions for the issue of vaccine efficacy. Misinformation with narrative evidence, as compared to that with statistical evidence, was perceived as less false and led to lower verification intentions. These findings can be explained by psychological processes such as counterarguing and narrative engagement. Our taxonomy can help researchers and practitioners develop dedicated misinformation correction and media literacy programs.

Keywords: misinformation type, COVID-19, vaccine, falsity, narrative, statistical