You have been blocked: Exploring the psychological, personality, and cognitive traits of blocking misinformation sources on social media

• Published in: Telematics and informatics Vol. 89; p. 102123
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Saifuddin, Bee, Adeline Wei Ting, Masood, Muhammad, Han Wei, Tan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Blocking; Cognition; Conscientiousness; FOMO; Misinformation; News use; Social media; Conscientiousness; Misinformation; Social media; Blocking; FOMO; Cognition; News use
• ISSN: 0736-5853; 1879-324X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2024.102123

•We study how psychological, personality, and cognitive traits impact the blocking of misinformation sources.•Three studies are conducted across varying political contexts using political, health misinformation, and deepfakes.•Social media news users are more likely to block misinformation sources due to high levels of fear of missing out.•Those with low levels of conscientiousness and low cognitive ability are more likely to engage in blocking.•The conditioning effects of conscientiousness vary across sociopolitical contexts. While extensive research has explored user engagement with misinformation, there remains a gap in understanding how individuals respond to those who share misinformation by blocking them. This study explores the factors influencing this blocking behavior, including social media news consumption, psychological traits, personality, and cognitive characteristics. Through three studies conducted in varying political contexts (the US and Singapore) and focusing on different types of misinformation (political, health, and political and entertainment deepfakes), we employ the dual motivation framework to analyze the interplay between social media news consumption and the decision to block sources of misinformation. Additionally, we investigate the role of the fear of missing out as a mediator in this relationship and how traits such as conscientiousness and cognitive ability moderate it. Our findings suggest that individuals who frequently consume social media news are more inclined to block sources of misinformation due to a heightened fear of missing out. Furthermore, those with lower levels of cognitive ability and conscientiousness exhibit a greater tendency to block misinformation sources. This research enhances our understanding of the mechanisms driving blocking behavior on social media in response to misinformation and underscores the importance of considering sociopolitical factors in understanding such behaviors.