Seeing Is Believing: Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News via Online Messaging Apps?
Dublin Core
Title
Seeing Is Believing: Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News via Online Messaging Apps?
Subject
Modality, Mobile Messaging, Fake News, Cognitive Processing
Description
False rumors on WhatsApp, the world’s largest messaging app, have led to mob lynching in India
and other countries. Doctored videos sent over the platform have elicited visceral responses among
users, resulting in the wrongful death of innocent people. Would the responses have been so strong
if the false news were circulated in text or audio? Is video modality the reason for such powerful effects? We explored this question by comparing reactions to three false stories prepared in either
text-only, audio-only, or video formats, among rural and urban users in India. Our findings reveal that video is processed more superficially, and therefore users believe in it more readily and share it with others. Aside from advancing our theoretical understanding of modality effects in the context of mobile media, our findings also hold practical implications for design of modalitybased flagging of fake news, and literacy campaigns to inoculate users against misinformation.
and other countries. Doctored videos sent over the platform have elicited visceral responses among
users, resulting in the wrongful death of innocent people. Would the responses have been so strong
if the false news were circulated in text or audio? Is video modality the reason for such powerful effects? We explored this question by comparing reactions to three false stories prepared in either
text-only, audio-only, or video formats, among rural and urban users in India. Our findings reveal that video is processed more superficially, and therefore users believe in it more readily and share it with others. Aside from advancing our theoretical understanding of modality effects in the context of mobile media, our findings also hold practical implications for design of modalitybased flagging of fake news, and literacy campaigns to inoculate users against misinformation.
Creator
S. Shyam Sundar, Maria D. Molina, & Eugene Cho
Source
https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/26/6/301/6336055
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Date
01 August 2021
Contributor
Sri Wahyuni
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Coverage
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 26 (2021)
Files
Collection
Citation
S. Shyam Sundar, Maria D. Molina, & Eugene Cho, “Seeing Is Believing: Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News via Online Messaging Apps?,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed May 21, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/8715.