Professor Tom Buchanan, Professor of Psychology, was interviewed by DFC Magazine about political disinformation.
Talking about his recent research about the spread of disinformation on social media, Professor Buchanan said: “My own work has suggested that people tend to share material that they think is true, or is consistent with their existing beliefs and attitudes. They are also more likely to share things they have some familiarity with. Beyond this, demographic variables (age, sex, education) and personality characteristics seem to have some influence.”
He later added: “False information is certainly very widely circulated, and very visible. I don’t know whether it’s possible to talk about false information dominating credible information, but it’s clear that false narratives do capture people’s attention and are influential. I think a big part of why false information has such a wide reach is the fact that it forms part of a broader information environment, including traditional broadcast media news cycles as well as social media, and influential actors such as politicians.”
Read the full article on the DFC website.
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