Seeing Is Believing: Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News via Online Messaging Apps?

• Published in: Journal of computer-mediated communication Vol. 26; no. 6; pp. 301 - 319
• Main Authors: Sundar, S Shyam, Molina, Maria D, Cho, Eugene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Oxford University Press 01.11.2021
• Subjects: News; India; Mobile Messaging; Cognitive Processing; Fake News; Modality
• ISSN: 1083-6101; 1083-6101
• DOI: 10.1093/jcmc/zmab010

Abstract False rumors on WhatsApp, the world’s largest messaging app, have led to mob lynching in India and other countries. Doctored videos sent over the platform have elicited visceral responses among users, resulting in the wrongful death of innocent people. Would the responses have been so strong if the false news were circulated in text or audio? Is video modality the reason for such powerful effects? We explored this question by comparing reactions to three false stories prepared in either text-only, audio-only, or video formats, among rural and urban users in India. Our findings reveal that video is processed more superficially, and therefore users believe in it more readily and share it with others. Aside from advancing our theoretical understanding of modality effects in the context of mobile media, our findings also hold practical implications for design of modality-based flagging of fake news, and literacy campaigns to inoculate users against misinformation. Lay Summary False rumors on messaging platforms like WhatsApp are on the rise. These rumors, however, can have deadly effects. For example, a false video led to several murders of suspected child kidnappers in India. Is it because it was in video format? Fake news stories on social media used to be mostly text. Today, they appear in richer formats like pictures, audio, and video. Digital technologies allow us to easily create fake content in all these formats. But, is fake news more believed when it is in a richer format like video? Are people more likely to share it with others? We ran a field experiment in India to find out. The experiment compared reactions to three false stories. We showed different versions of the same story to different participants. In our work, we find that users fall for fake news more when presented in video form. This is because they tend to believe what they see; more than what they hear or read. This study gives us insight into how people consume news on mobile devices. It shows that format affects how people perceive information. This work provides ideas for literacy campaigns to promote awareness of fake news and protect people from falling for it. It informs the design of alerts and warnings to help people detect fake news early and stop its spread.