Veteran Status as a Potent Determinant of Misinformation and Disinformation Cyber Risk

This paper examines how being a veteran or having a prior history of being a veteran contributes to susceptibility to falling prey to misinformation and disinformation attacks. An experimental survey (N=327) was deployed across the United States, where participants were tested on their ability to discern facts against misleading news content. The findings strongly suggest (p=.000) that veteran status is a strong determinant of misinformation and disinformation vulnerability and that veterans performed poorly on detection accuracy compared to their non-veteran counterparts. The intended target audiences of this paper are information scientists, digital forensic professionals, communication experts, and policymakers, possibly seeking references in this application area.