Abstract
Fake news on social media has become a serious problem, and social
media platforms have started to actively implement various interventions
to mitigate its impact. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of
two platform interventions, namely a content-level intervention (i.e.,
a fake news flag that applies to a single post) and an account-level
intervention (i.e., a forwarding restriction policy that applies to the
entire account). Collecting data from China’s largest social media platform,
we study the impact of a fake news flag on three fake news
dissemination patterns using a propensity score matching method
with a difference-in-differences approach. We find that implementing
a policy of using fake news flag influences the dissemination of fake
news in a more centralized manner via direct forwards and in a less
dispersed manner via indirect forwards, and that fake news posts are
forwarded more often by influential users. In addition, compared with
truthful news, fake news is disseminated in a less centralized and more
dispersed manner and survives for a shorter period after a forwarding
restriction policy is implemented. This study provides causal empirical
evidence of the effect of a fake news flag on fake news dissemination.
We also expand the literature on platform interventions to combat
fake news by investigating a less studied account-level intervention.
We discuss the practical implications of our results for social media
platform owners and policymakers.
media platforms have started to actively implement various interventions
to mitigate its impact. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of
two platform interventions, namely a content-level intervention (i.e.,
a fake news flag that applies to a single post) and an account-level
intervention (i.e., a forwarding restriction policy that applies to the
entire account). Collecting data from China’s largest social media platform,
we study the impact of a fake news flag on three fake news
dissemination patterns using a propensity score matching method
with a difference-in-differences approach. We find that implementing
a policy of using fake news flag influences the dissemination of fake
news in a more centralized manner via direct forwards and in a less
dispersed manner via indirect forwards, and that fake news posts are
forwarded more often by influential users. In addition, compared with
truthful news, fake news is disseminated in a less centralized and more
dispersed manner and survives for a shorter period after a forwarding
restriction policy is implemented. This study provides causal empirical
evidence of the effect of a fake news flag on fake news dissemination.
We also expand the literature on platform interventions to combat
fake news by investigating a less studied account-level intervention.
We discuss the practical implications of our results for social media
platform owners and policymakers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Routledge |
| Editors | Alan R. Dennis, Dennis F. Galletta, Jane Webster |
| Publisher | Routledge Taylor & Francis Group |
| Chapter | 1 |
| Pages | 6-38 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781003433934 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781032561127 |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Sept 2023 |