*Misinformation on Misinformation: Conceptual and Methodological
Challenges**
*
/Sacha Altay, Manon Berriche and Alberto Acerbi/
https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221150412
Abstract
Alarmist narratives about online misinformation continue to gain
traction despite evidence that its prevalence and impact are overstated.
Drawing on research examining the use of big data in social science and
reception studies, we identify six misconceptions about misinformation
and highlight the conceptual and methodological challenges they raise.
The first set of misconceptions concerns the prevalence and circulation
of misinformation. First, scientists focus on social media because it is
methodologically convenient, but misinformation is not just a social
media problem. Second, the internet is not rife with misinformation or
news, but with memes and entertaining content. Third, falsehoods do not
spread faster than the truth; how we define (mis)information influences
our results and their practical implications. The second set of
misconceptions concerns the impact and the reception of misinformation.
Fourth, people do not believe everything they see on the internet: the
sheer volume of engagement should not be conflated with belief. Fifth,
people are more likely to be uninformed than misinformed; surveys
overestimate misperceptions and say little about the causal influence of
misinformation. Sixth, the influence of misinformation on people’s
behavior is overblown as misinformation often “preaches to the choir.”
To appropriately understand and fight misinformation, future research
needs to address these challenges.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221150412
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