Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Blind trust in social media perpetuates, and resurrects, conspiracy theories says new study

Blind trust in social media perpetuates, and resurrects, conspiracy theories says new study

People with a higher degree of trust in information on social media are more likely to not only believe new conspiracy theories, but to resurrect old, repeatedly debunked ones as well, according to the latest research.
Researchers at Washington State University, led by Porismita Borah, an associate professor at WSU, and a corresponding author on the study, surveyed 760 people recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing website.

For the purposes of the study into misinformation proliferation on social media, they ensured a relatively even split between male and female as well as Democrat and Republican, of whom 63.1 percent used Facebook and 47.3 percent used Twitter daily for the purposes of finding news.

They were asked a series of questions relating to their use of, and trust in, social media to obtain news, as well as their own self-reported abilities to identify misinformation.

The participants were asked to rate the veracity of several popular Covid-19 conspiracy theories, including that it is a biological weapon unleashed upon the world by a variety of world nations.

They were also asked to opine on older conspiracy theories, such as the Moon landings being a hoax or the debunked and repeatedly investigated claims that Princess Diana was killed by British intelligence or the SAS.

The more skeptical a person was about misinformation, the less likely they were to believe conspiracy theories, except in instances where the participant had a high degree of trust in social media information.

The researchers also found that, once conspiracy theory beliefs took hold, it became extraordinarily difficult to convince a person otherwise.

“There was some good and bad news in this study,” Borah said. “The good news is that you are less susceptible to conspiracy theories if you have some media literacy skills, one of which is being able to identify misinformation. But if you blindly trust the information you find on social media, those skills might not be able to help.”

The researchers suggest increasing political tribalism makes people more likely to unwaveringly support their own side and only question the opposition, regardless of their purported critical thinking abilities.

The WSU researchers state that, while media literacy training is key to fending off misinformation, it isn't sufficient on its own and must form an integral part of the education system and from a younger age, if societies are to have any hope of effectively combating the proliferation of badly sourced or deliberately manipulated information online.

“The patterns around trust is one of the most important findings from our study,” said Borah. “We need to go deeper into what this trust means.”
Comments

Oh ya 4 year ago
Oh wait it was a conspiracy theory about the UFO at Roswell until just a few month ago when the government admitted ot true. So what other theories will cpme out as true in the yrs ahead. So this studies just prove that some people are ahead of some pyhers in understanding things

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×