Fake news or bad news? Toward an emotion-driven cognitive dissonance model of misinformation diffusion

Abstract

Misinformation about food safety has become a serious problem in Mainland China. This study explores the cognitive, affective, and environmental factors affecting the acquisition and diffusion of food safety misinformation. Based on a national sample of Chinese Internet users, we found that: (1) social media are the major source of misinformation about food safety, while exposure to online news reduces levels of misinformation; (2) Internet self-efficacy reduces levels of misinformation, but it also facilitates information diffusion; (3) individuals who possess more misinformation disseminate food safety (mis)information more frequently online; (4) negative emotions mediate levels of misinformation and the diffusion of information; and (5) levels of distrust moderate the mediating effect of negative emotion, where misinformation only triggers negative emotions among people with high trust in food safety. An emotion-driven cognitive dissonance model of misinformation diffusion is proposed accordingly.