A Direct and Indirect Effect of Third-Person Perception of COVID-19 Fake News on Support for Fake News Regulations on Social Media: Investigating the Role of Negative Emotions and Political Views

ABSTRACTBased on the third-person effect theory, the present study explored the direct and indirect relationships between the third-person perception of fake news and public support for fake news regulations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that the direct effect of the third-person perception of COVID-19 fake news on the support for fake news regulations was significant and positive. However, the indirect effect of the third-person perception of COVID-19 fake news on the support for fake news regulations was found to be significantly negative. The third-person perception of COVID-19 fake news reduced negative emotions toward COVID-19 fake news, which, in turn, decreased public support for fake news regulations. Furthermore, this study indicated that the negative indirect effect of the third-person perception of COVID-19 fake news on the support for restrictions against fake news varied depending on individuals’ political views. The indirect negative effect of the third-person perception of COVID-19 fake news on the support for fake news regulations was significant only for those with conservative political positions. This indirect negative effect was not significant among those with liberal political positions. The implications of the findings were discussed. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsMihee KimMihee Kim (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park) is an assistant professor of media and communication at the Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea. Her research interests include social media, media effects, and political communication.