Disinformation and the Mind: A Study on Emotional Cues Influencing Digital Misinformation Sharing

Abstract

A mixed-methods research methodology was used in this study to examine how emotional signals affect the dissemination of false information online. Three main elements formed the framework of the methodology: qualitative interviews, experimental testing, and sentiment analysis. In order to categorize the predominant emotional tones—such as wrath, fear, moral outrage, grief, and neutrality—10,000 tweets labeled with misinformation were first taken from Twitter and examined using the VADER sentiment analysis tool. A behavioral experiment with 300 individuals, ages 18 to 45, was carried out in the second phase. Participants rated their emotional responses on a 5-point Likert scale, indicated whether they were likely to share, and evaluated 20 headlines, both real and fake. Emotional language was purposefully used in half of the fake headlines. Twenty participants were chosen for semi-structured interviews to examine the psychological drivers of their sharing practices in order to augment the quantitative findings. A thorough grasp of how emotional content influences the dissemination of false information in digital contexts was made possible by this triangulated approach, which allowed for a solid comprehension of both statistical trends and human thought processes.