Study finds power-motivated users share more fake news on social media

People motivated by power and the desire to influence others are more likely to share fake news posts on social media, according to a new study led by a UCL researcher.

In a series of experiments, power-motivated social media users were found to share more misinformation on a simulated social media platform, and fake news constituted a larger proportion of what they shared.

Whether people held positions of power in their working life did not predict how likely they were to share misinformation, suggesting the motivation for power or dominance was the driver rather than power itself, according to the study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. 

The study consisted of four separate experiments, with a total of 1,882 participants who were presented with a series of real and fake social media posts. Participants selected posts to indicate they would be inclined to share them on social media. They also completed measures of their power values (abstract life guides related to power, influence and wealth), their personality (in terms of the dominance trait), desire to post on social media to influence others, and, in one study, satisfaction with the level of power attained through sharing information.

The researchers found that people motivated by power were more likely to share fake news, but no more likely to share real news.

People who scored highly on a measure of dominance shared more fake news in the experiment and were also more likely to report having knowingly shared misinformation in the recent past, which may suggest they were aware of the unreliable information they shared but chose to continue doing so anyway.

Our findings suggest that people who are motivated by obtaining power, and influencing others, may share misinformation without concern for its accuracy, as a form of brokerage to gain a following and to control narratives.”

Ana Guinote, Study Lead Author and Professor, University College London 

“Other studies have suggested that people are more likely to share misinformation if it is consistent with their beliefs and goals, such as political goals in the lead-up to an election, so it may be that those who are motivated by political gain and influencing an election might be particularly likely to spread misinformation.”