How social media misinformation wins — even if you don't believe it

Bots and trolls are insidious to an influence process called social proof, the process when individuals find behaviors and beliefs more appropriate when they see other people engaging in these behaviors. Social proof plays on the desire for interpersonal connection. Yet manufactured connections can be used by disinformation campaigns to sow discord.

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Trolls change the perception of social proof by promoting messages they do not necessarily believe in; bots do so by amplifying messages that have little actual social consensus. When the memes and posts of disinformation campaigns align with currently held beliefs, the increased social proof can push social media users to increasingly extreme positions. If Twitter users see a hashtag such as #NancyPelosiFakeNews trending on Twitter, they may believe this trend is due to actual voter concerns with the Speaker of the House, not realizing that in the same timeframe it is also the top trending hashtag used by known trollbots.

When people see others with divergent opinions sharing these low-quality memes, they view that person as uninformed and easily duped. Identifying the messages shared by others as disinformation exacerbates this problem, making people on different sides of an issue hold increasingly negative views of the other side.

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