Curtailing the spread of fake news: Antecedents of citizens’ intention to correct misinformation on social media

Abstract There are severe concerns over the widespread presence of fake news on social media and the vulnerability of citizens to its influence. Prior research on fake news has largely focused on the potential threat it poses to democracy, and has payed less attention to an opposing behavior that has emerged in parallel and mitigates its effects: citizens’ corrective actions. This study seeks to examine the sociopolitical antecedents that drive citizens to correct fake news on social media. Drawing on panel survey data from Spain (T 2 = 570), we explore the role that using social media for news, cross-cutting political discussion, and support for fake news censorship have on intention to correct misinformation on social media. Our findings clarify the positive associations between the use of social media for news, the frequency of cross-cutting discussion, and support for fake news censorship over the intention to correct misinformation. Briefly, our study shows how social media’s mix of news, misinformation and political disagreement can motivate users to undertake pro-social democratic behaviors like corrective actions.