Affective Information Processing of Fake News: Evidence from NeuroIS

Lutz, Bernhard ; Adam, Marc T. P. ; Feuerriegel, Stefan ; Pröllochs, Nicolas and Neumann, Dirk (2023): Affective Information Processing of Fake News: Evidence from NeuroIS. In: European Journal of Information Systems: pp. 1-20 [Forthcoming]

Abstract

Fake news undermines individuals’ ability to make informed decisions. However, the theoretical understanding of how users assess online news as real or fake has thus far remained incomplete. In particular, previous research cannot explain why users fall for fake news inadvertently and despite careful thinking. In this work, we study the role of affect when users assess online news as real or fake. We employ NeuroIS measurements as a complementary approach beyond self-reports, which allows us to capture affective responses in situ, i.e., directly in the moment they occur. We draw upon cognitive dissonance theory, which suggests that users experiencing affective responses avoid unpleasant information to reduce psychological discomfort. In our NeuroIS experiment, we measured affective responses based on electrocardiography and eye tracking. We find that lower heart rate variability and shorter mean fixation duration are associated with greater perceived fakeness and a higher probability of incorrect assessments, thus providing evidence of affective information processing. These findings imply that users may fall for fake news automatically and without even noticing. This has direct implications for information systems (IS) research and practice as effective countermeasures against fake news must account for affective information processing.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Keywords: Fake news, Social media, Affective information processing, Electrocardiography, Eye tracking, NeuroIS
• Faculties: Munich School of Management > Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Management
• Subjects: 000 Computer science, information and general works > 000 Computer science, knowledge, and systems
• ISSN: 0960-085X
• Language: English