Individual characteristics
Few studies show evidence that altruism contributes to sharing fake news among social media users [17,18,19, 39]. The driving force behind altruism is the desire to better the welfare of another person to better one’s own well-being. Altruism and associated concepts such as collaboration and reciprocity are commonly regarded as uniquely human characteristics [45]. Besides that, altruism influences the decision to disseminate fake news on social media platforms [46]. Previous studies have also discovered that social media information dissemination is influenced by benevolence [47]. This indicates that a selfless person finds satisfaction in helping others. However, we argue that people may contribute to the propagation of false information if they do not pay closer attention to what is being shared. In a study done by Apuke and Omar [18], it has been shown that altruism is a distinct trait of the average Nigerian, and it is more of a cultural characteristic [18]. Motivation is another psychological factor, which helps in the dissemination of fake news (17–18, 26, 32, 36–37). Motivation is defined as the energy that drives someone to complete a goal. Motivation is frequently motivated by some rationale where it makes sense in the context of the individual [48].
The motive behind disseminating fake news is also linked to elements including social media weariness, self-promotion, internet confidence, self-reporting, and fear of missing out [17, 36]. Self-promotion drive is a type of motivation that appears when users want to show other users that they are highly competent or that they are intelligent or skilled [18, 49]. While promoting oneself is linked to projecting a positive image to others, this could discourage people from spreading false information [36]. Furthermore, studies have shown that those who spread false information out of a fear of missing out are more inclined to do so [36]. These findings go counter to the theory that exclusion anxiety, one of the factors influencing fear of missing out, causes a decline in self-regulation and an increase in undesirable behaviour [50]. This implies that people may share fake news online because of a need to use social media in spite of fatigue, as it can be an easy way to keep engaged without putting in a lot of work. Moreover, they might unknowingly disseminate false information. This result is in line with the findings of Logan et al., who contended that users experiencing social media fatigue make more mistakes and get confused [51]. Additionally, the sociotechnical model of media effects predicts that tired users will disseminate false information.
In terms of creation fake news, Shehata and Eldakar [32] had discovered that motivation demonstrated that individuals create false material on social media for a variety of reasons, while obtaining pertinent information and lowering anxiety were the primary drivers. The study’s findings suggested that although some social media users may create false information for other purposes, such as amusement, forming and strengthening friendships, or engaging with friends, the majority of users did so to obtain pertinent updates and feel less anxious [32]. Recent scholarly research has emphasised the various modern aspects that impact the production of fake news. The influence of social media platforms is one important component. Research has demonstrated that these platforms’ algorithm-driven content promotion helps spread disinformation quickly [52]. Furthermore, “echo chambers” on social media are a phenomenon that aids in the dissemination of fake news since people are more likely to come across and accept content that confirms their preconceived notions [53]. Fake news is also created and for the need for social approval and the attraction of sensational information [54]. These results highlight the intricate interactions of social, technological, and psychological elements in the creation of fake news.
Personality [25, 34, 38, 41]. Psychology uses personality to categorize several individual characteristics that affect behaviour [55]. All of them used the Big Five personality model to explain the personality characteristics of sharing fake news [21, 30, 34, 37] exhibiting traits of big five personality which are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The qualities of this five trait or dimension are derived from research into how people identify themselves and one another in normal or everyday language [55]. From these findings, we found that the individuals who disseminate fake news have high levels of Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism. While extraversion and agreeableness traits are consistent with previous research on the relationship between social media engagement and personality [56, 57]. The background of the COVID-19 epidemic, which sends messages of dread, loneliness, melancholy, anger, uncertainty, and grief, among other things, may help to explain why neuroticism initially seems odder. The information source and agreeableness attribute may interact, with more pleasant people being more driven to please those who are important to them. The stories might be important, and misinformation products are usually adversarial or critical in character. This may suggest that they are more likely to be shared by irascible individuals who don’t care to apologize to others or take offence at them. Moreover, agreeableness and general trusting behaviour are related. It may be that individuals who are unpleasant are more likely to read conspiratorial literature or other materials that are consistent with a lack of faith in public figures such as politicians.
However, a study done by Lawson and Kakkar [34], only explored the role of conscientiousness against fake news sharing behaviour. Besides that, individuals with lower conscientiousness are more inclined to share fake news, which is not surprising as they are less likely to verify the authenticity of a story before sharing it. This viewpoint is reinforced by the absence of a link with deliberate historical sharing. In addition, an individual’s moral consciousness [27] is referred to as thoughts about moral principles that vary according to the stage of moral development. Moral consciousness represents a deeply entrenched and pervasive conception of everyday life, unlike moral reasoning or judgement, which occurs in response to moral quandaries posed during measurement. From the findings, ideologically motivated political brand hatred is motivated by a desire to maintain one’s moral conscience, which amplifies the consequence of hatred by propagating bogus news.
Cognition
One study explored attitudes and beliefs as one of the psychological factors [41]. According to Bryanov and Vziatysheva [58], attitudes and beliefs relate to people’s perceptions and assessments of themselves and other people [58]. In this study, attitudes and belief factors contributing to the sharing of fake news among social media users are explored. The scientific study of cognition is the process by which a person uses reasoning to make sense of particular subjects or data, and comprehension is the process by which a person interprets ideas and reasoning correctly [12]. With so much content available on social media, users could find it difficult to decide which information is closest to the original source. This may have an impact on their attitudes and beliefs towards sharing certain information they have come across on social media [12]. The problem of people being unable to distinguish between real and fake news has been highlighted by numerous publications. There is a lower likelihood that social media users will research the content they read or post. Any unconfirmed content can therefore be swiftly shared and distributed over social media platforms [59].
Ignorance
Social media users’ mindless forwarding of erroneous information is one of the main factors contributing to the spread of inaccurate information [60]. The spread of false information is frequently the result of careless people who are unaware that certain websites imitate real websites [59]. These phony websites are designed to resemble the authentic ones, yet their content is entirely fabricated. Without verifying the facts and sources, social media users are more inclined to spread content with an attention-grabbing headline [61]. False information spreads because users don’t check the content on social media sites. Social media users frequently distribute content without checking its accuracy or source [59].
Affection
Emotion is also one of the psychological factors to be studied for its influence on fake news dissemination [30, 33, 40]. Different emotions have been proposed to influence judgement in general and perceptions of fake news sharing. This study has shown how emotions and personal attitudes interact to make people believe fake news more and feel more motivated to spread it online for self-expression [62]. Ali et al. [30] studied anger and fear, while Anu and Fransesca [34] explored different types of emotions such as rage, happiness, despair, contempt, fear, surprise, anticipation, and trust. Chuai & Zhao explored anger emotion with sharing fake news [40]. Emotions such as anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety make social media users share bogus news for amusement or enjoyment [49]. Emotion influences the user’s proclivity to interpret bogus news as true (16, 63–64). This suggests that the tendency of social media users to perceive news based on their emotions leads to them believing and sharing fake news with others [16].
Social processes
Socialization plays a key role in spreading false information. The frequency of social connection between people is the most important factor in determining socialization pleasure. The pleasure of socializing was investigated in relation to the desire to create social capital and contrast it with others while sharing news on social media (18–19, 39). Social media literacy is also another psychological factor that affects fake news sharing [28]. According to Schreurs and Vandenbosch, the technical and mental skills required for users to use social media effectively and efficiently for online communication and social participation are known as social media literacy skills [65]. In addition, entertainment is another factor, which contributes to fake news sharing. Entertainment is defined as the use of social media sites to simply eliminate boredom [17]. According to Chuai and Zhao, one of the most important motives for using social media is recognition and the fulfilment of time passes is intimately tied to the dissemination of false news [40]. Furthermore, disseminating fake news for the sake of entertainment when someone else is duped by it, or just because it’s an exciting experience. These people, who might know better, might tell others who are less wary about this “funny” news to provide them with a quick thrill.
Social media platforms are being used to spread fake news to mislead the public for political ends [12]. Numerous papers have asserted that people who use social media are more likely to look for information from people who hold similar opinions to them [12, 66]. An individual must socialize to modify their behaviour to fit within a certain social group [67]. Users of social media may submit facts to gain social acceptance and enhance their image out of a desire to better themselves, making it difficult for them to distinguish between accurate and false information [36]. Research indicates that messages pertaining to particular people or influencers on social media platforms like Twitter are amplified [68]. The ratings of significant users connected to the information determine the flow of information [60].
The effect and dissemination of many types of information are enhanced by social media users’ influence on their peers [68]. The information’s impact may be amplified by these influencers’ degree of power [69]. People may share information based on the thoughts and deeds of others because there is a dearth of pertinent material in online forums [60]. Certain studies indicate that people on social media will look for or spread information that supports their beliefs or worldviews [70]. One essential aspect of using social media is social media literacy, which is the capacity of users to distinguish between what is real and what is fake [71]. People are more likely to share information on social media when the contact is successful [36]. Social media users provide seemingly reasonable arguments to confirm the veracity of the content being offered [72]. Some people’s lack of intelligence is used by those who post inaccurate content and produce fake news websites [73]. Expert content judgement is required for social media users to determine if the material they get is authentic or incorrect [74].
This research contributes to the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by providing insights into the psychological and motivational drivers behind the creation and dissemination of fake news on social media. UGT, which posits that individuals actively seek media to fulfil specific needs such as information, social interaction, and identity reinforcement, can explain how users engage with fake news to gratify personal or social desires like gaining social approval or validating pre-existing beliefs. In parallel, SDT, which emphasizes the role of intrinsic motivation such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness which helps to explain how individuals might create or spread fake news as a way to assert control (autonomy), demonstrate knowledge (competence), or foster social connections (relatedness). Through these lenses, this research sheds light on the complex interplay of personal, social, and psychological factors that drive fake news behaviour, thus extending the theoretical understanding of media consumption and interaction in digital environments.
The Uses and Gratifications theory [75] is a well-liked theory that is frequently used to investigate social media gratifications. It postulates that people utilise technologies to satisfy their psychological and social needs. The theory focuses on what individuals do with media instead of what media does to them and was applied as an extension of requirements and motivation theory, despite its initial design and application to comprehend the factors influencing users’ choice of media [76]. The Uses and Gratifications theory can be broadly classified into four categories which are social, process, content, and technology. Self Determination Theory evaluates human motivation and personality and asserts that people have basic psychological needs to be met, such as relatedness, autonomy, and competence [77]. Individuals grow, feel good, and maintain their integrity when these basic needs are met. Self Determination Theory contributes to the explanation of how the need for relatedness and a sense of belonging drives the millennial generation’s version of fear of missing out. It also involves the fear of losing out on enjoyable and fulfilling experiences [78]. There is evidence that connects fear of missing out to unhealthy habits such as excessive Internet use [79, 80] and dissemination of fake news [36].
Theoretical and practical implications
The findings of this systematic review contribute to the development of a more comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the psychological factors involved in the creation and dissemination of fake news on social media. By integrating cognitive, emotional, and social identity theories, this review extends existing research beyond isolated psychological processes to illustrate how these factors interact in complex ways. For instance, cognitive biases such as confirmation bias and the illusory truth effect, previously studied in isolation, are shown to work in tandem with emotional triggers and social identity-driven motivations to shape user behaviour. The review also has implications for social identity theory [81] which explains how individuals’ identification with particular social or political groups influences their information-sharing behaviour.
Weeks & Gil de Zúñiga [82] show that partisanship and group loyalty can increase the likelihood of sharing misinformation that aligns with one’s social identity, even when it is false. The review integrates these insights with social psychology theories of group polarization [83] suggesting that in-group dynamics and the need for social approval play key roles in the propagation of fake news. This more holistic approach highlights the importance of considering multi-level influences, advancing theories of media psychology, misinformation, and social identity in digital contexts. Additionally, by advancing these theoretical insights, this review encourages future research to adopt interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate psychological, communication, and sociological perspectives, thus filling gaps in existing theoretical models on the psychological underpinnings of fake news dissemination.
In addition, by incorporating Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) into this review highlights the psychological motivations behind fake news creation and dissemination, emphasizing that these behaviours are often rooted in deeper psychological needs for gratification, autonomy, and social belonging. This offers a more nuanced understanding of fake news engagement, suggesting that interventions should not only focus on debunking false information but also address the underlying psychological drivers that compel individuals to create and share misinformation. These theories also encourage future research to explore how satisfying these psychological needs might lead to a preference for emotionally charged, biased, or sensational content, further contributing to the persistence and spread of fake news.
From a practical standpoint, the insights from this review can inform strategies for mitigating the spread of fake news on social media. For social media platforms and policymakers, understanding the psychological drivers of misinformation dissemination can guide the design of more effective interventions, such as content moderation tools, educational campaigns, and user prompts that target specific cognitive biases or emotional responses. For example, increasing users’ awareness of cognitive biases could lead to more critical engagement with content, while strategies aimed at reducing emotional contagion, such as flagging highly emotive posts, may curb rapid misinformation sharing. Additionally, this review’s findings can help media literacy programs focus on building resilience against the psychological triggers that make users vulnerable to fake news, thereby empowering individuals to make more informed decisions online. Finally, insights into social identity dynamics can be used to develop community-based interventions that address group-based misinformation sharing, fostering healthier online environments.
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