TY - JOUR
T1 - Seeing Is Believing
T2 - Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News via Online Messaging Apps?
AU - Shyam Sundar, S.
AU - Molina, Maria D.
AU - Cho, Eugene
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International Communication Association.
PY - 2021/11/1
Y1 - 2021/11/1
N2 - False rumors on WhatsApp, the world's largest messaging app, have led to mob lynching in India and other countries. Doctored videos sent over the platform have elicited visceral responses among users, resulting in the wrongful death of innocent people. Would the responses have been so strong if the false news were circulated in text or audio? Is video modality the reason for such powerful effects? We explored this question by comparing reactions to three false stories prepared in either text-only, audio-only, or video formats, among rural and urban users in India. Our findings reveal that video is processed more superficially, and therefore users believe in it more readily and share it with others. Aside from advancing our theoretical understanding of modality effects in the context of mobile media, our findings also hold practical implications for design of modality-based flagging of fake news, and literacy campaigns to inoculate users against misinformation.
AB - False rumors on WhatsApp, the world's largest messaging app, have led to mob lynching in India and other countries. Doctored videos sent over the platform have elicited visceral responses among users, resulting in the wrongful death of innocent people. Would the responses have been so strong if the false news were circulated in text or audio? Is video modality the reason for such powerful effects? We explored this question by comparing reactions to three false stories prepared in either text-only, audio-only, or video formats, among rural and urban users in India. Our findings reveal that video is processed more superficially, and therefore users believe in it more readily and share it with others. Aside from advancing our theoretical understanding of modality effects in the context of mobile media, our findings also hold practical implications for design of modality-based flagging of fake news, and literacy campaigns to inoculate users against misinformation.
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U2 - 10.1093/jcmc/zmab010
DO - 10.1093/jcmc/zmab010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120315278
SN - 1083-6101
VL - 26
SP - 301
EP - 319
JO - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
JF - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
IS - 6
ER -