The Paradox of Participation Versus Misinformation: Social Media, Political Engagement, and the Spread of Misinformation
Loading...
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The mechanisms by which users of platforms such as Facebookand Twitter spread misinformation are not well understood. In thisstudy, we argue that the effects of informational uses of socialmedia on political participation are inextricable from its effects onmisinformation sharing. That is, political engagement is both amajor consequence of using social media for news as well as akey antecedent of sharing misinformation. We test our expecta-tions via a two-wave panel survey of online media users in Chile, acountry experiencing information disorders comparable to those ofthe global North. Analyses of the proposed and alternative causalmodels with two types of structural equation specifications (fixedeffects and autoregressive) support our theoretical model. Weclose with a discussion on how changes in the way people engagewith news and politics – brought about by social media – haveproduced a new dilemma: how to sustain a citizenry that is enthu-siastically politically active, yet not spreading misinformation?
Description
Keywords
Misinformation, Socialmedia, News, Political participation, Chile