10 April 2025
Socioeconomic, Informational, and Attitudinal Predictors of Misinformation Belief: Survey Evidence from Four Countries
Executive Summary
We explore the individual-level predictors of misinformation belief through surveys featuring 30 misinformation stories in four countries: Spain, Portugal, the United States, and India. Greater reliance on social media is consistently associated with misinformation belief in all countries. Further analyses reveal that this relationship is driven by different subsets of individuals across countries. For instance, in a hyper-polarised country (United States), this relationship is strongest among respondents with high levels of political interest. Overall, our results uncover several consistent predictors of misinformation belief while also highlighting the need for targeted interventions (e.g., around social media use).
Executive Summary
We explore the individual-level predictors of misinformation belief through surveys featuring 30 misinformation stories in four countries: Spain, Portugal, the United States, and India. Greater reliance on social media is consistently associated with misinformation belief in all countries. Further analyses reveal that this relationship is driven by different subsets of individuals across countries. For instance, in a hyper-polarised country (United States), this relationship is strongest among respondents with high levels of political interest. Overall, our results uncover several consistent predictors of misinformation belief while also highlighting the need for targeted interventions (e.g., around social media use).
