Biased, not lazy: assessing the effect of COVID-19 misinformation tactics on perceptions of inaccuracy and fakeness

Abstract

In light of the fact that people have more opportunities to encounter scientific misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, this research aimed to examine how different types of misinformation impact readers’ evaluations of messages and to identify the mechanisms (motivated reasoning hypothesis vs. classical reasoning theory) underlying those evaluations of message inaccuracy and fakeness.

Keywords

• analytical thinking
• distrust in science
• hong kong
• misinformation
• motivated reasoning
• perceived inaccuracy
• perceived fakeness