Date

2-29-2024

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Nathan Borrett

Keywords

Social media, fake news, emotions, emotional lexicon, interactions, behaviors, psychology, social psychology

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

As issues with fake news continue to increase, so does the need to understand better the motivation for interacting with these types of articles. Social media has become a primary source for finding news. Individuals within social media have the option to share, like, and comment on new articles. Interventions such as fake checkers, rater comments, and other types of warnings have been proven helpful in slowing the believability and interactive behaviors of fake news articles on social media sites. This qualitative, phenomenological study interviewed five participants to gain insight into how individuals experience the negative emotional lexicon within fake news articles and interact with these articles on social media. A modified Van Kaam analysis method found that the sample population does not interact (like, share, or comment) on fake news articles regardless of the language used. The study's findings also found that individuals feel compelled to discuss the topic in face-to-face settings, highlighting the importance of information sharing while avoiding digital platforms as the mechanism for achieving the goal.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS