Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Blind trust in social media perpetuates, and resurrects, conspiracy theories says new study

Blind trust in social media perpetuates, and resurrects, conspiracy theories says new study

People with a higher degree of trust in information on social media are more likely to not only believe new conspiracy theories, but to resurrect old, repeatedly debunked ones as well, according to the latest research.
Researchers at Washington State University, led by Porismita Borah, an associate professor at WSU, and a corresponding author on the study, surveyed 760 people recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing website.

For the purposes of the study into misinformation proliferation on social media, they ensured a relatively even split between male and female as well as Democrat and Republican, of whom 63.1 percent used Facebook and 47.3 percent used Twitter daily for the purposes of finding news.

They were asked a series of questions relating to their use of, and trust in, social media to obtain news, as well as their own self-reported abilities to identify misinformation.

The participants were asked to rate the veracity of several popular Covid-19 conspiracy theories, including that it is a biological weapon unleashed upon the world by a variety of world nations.

They were also asked to opine on older conspiracy theories, such as the Moon landings being a hoax or the debunked and repeatedly investigated claims that Princess Diana was killed by British intelligence or the SAS.

The more skeptical a person was about misinformation, the less likely they were to believe conspiracy theories, except in instances where the participant had a high degree of trust in social media information.

The researchers also found that, once conspiracy theory beliefs took hold, it became extraordinarily difficult to convince a person otherwise.

“There was some good and bad news in this study,” Borah said. “The good news is that you are less susceptible to conspiracy theories if you have some media literacy skills, one of which is being able to identify misinformation. But if you blindly trust the information you find on social media, those skills might not be able to help.”

The researchers suggest increasing political tribalism makes people more likely to unwaveringly support their own side and only question the opposition, regardless of their purported critical thinking abilities.

The WSU researchers state that, while media literacy training is key to fending off misinformation, it isn't sufficient on its own and must form an integral part of the education system and from a younger age, if societies are to have any hope of effectively combating the proliferation of badly sourced or deliberately manipulated information online.

“The patterns around trust is one of the most important findings from our study,” said Borah. “We need to go deeper into what this trust means.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×