People with conservative political leanings more likely to believe in health disinformation, study finds

[erronis]

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-people-political-health-disinformation.html
Sanjukta Mondal,

Individuals who like to think critically are better at identifying false information online, while those with conservative political affiliations struggle more with detecting fake medical information on social media, according to a PLOS One study.

Iowa State University researcher Joey F. George analyzed responses from 508 American participants who reviewed 10 different social media posts that covered diverse health topics with both honest and disinforming claims, with 60% of them falling under the second category.

After viewing the videos and making their honesty judgments, participants were asked to record their responses through online surveys, selecting up to eight reasons from a predefined list. These reasons included the reliability of the source, whether claims were supported by evidence or based on opinion, and the presence or absence of credentials.

Overall, people detected health disinformation with 66% accuracy. This performance is troubling, especially with the world living through an infodemic, a flood of online information where fact and fiction mix freely. Finding trustworthy health guidance online has become increasingly difficult, owing to black box–like social media algorithms that amplify accurate and misleading posts alike.

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The results indicated that those with a high need for cognition were significantly better at identifying false information. At the same time, political leanings influenced how certain posts were perceived, particularly on polarizing topics such as COVID-19 vaccines and FDA warnings about drugs like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

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