The risky news sharing quotient (RNSQ): A research instrument for exploring news-sharing behaviour that spreads fake news

Education, Citizenship and Social Justice Pub Date : 2024-01-17 DOI:10.1177/17461979231218652

T. Martin, Yoan Gutiérrez Vázquez, Robiert Sepúlveda-Torres, José Ignacio Abreu Salas

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Abstract

The spread of fake news (FN) has attracted attention from disciplines ranging from social sciences to Artificial Intelligence. This work is novel because it explores the news-sharing behaviour of social-media users, focussing on those that spread FN, rather than the psychological motivations behind them. The 14-item Risky News-Sharing Quotient (RNSQ) was developed and Exploratory Factor Analysis discovered three relevant factors: (i) news-sharing behaviour that contributes to debunking FN; (ii) news-sharing frequency and attitudes to sharing; and (iii) news-sharing behaviour that contributes to the spread of FN. The study, conducted among university students, found that 75% reported risky news-sharing behaviour that spreads FN. No link was found between perceiving FN as a problem and debunking it. Moreover, 83% of survey participants were unable to identify a FN story. Overall, the findings suggest an inability to apply knowledge of the relevant FN detection strategies to debunk FN, but importantly an apparent lack of motivation to check the veracity of a news story. From these conclusions, better-informed educational intervention strategies can be implemented to address the FN problem in-situ, such as promoting the importance of responsible news-sharing by raising awareness of how the spread of FN can impede the proper functioning of societies.

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风险新闻分享商数（RNSQ）：探索传播假新闻的新闻分享行为的研究工具

假新闻（FN）的传播已经引起了从社会科学到人工智能等各个学科的关注。这项研究之所以新颖，是因为它探讨了社交媒体用户的新闻分享行为，重点是那些传播假新闻的用户，而不是他们背后的心理动机。研究开发了 14 个项目的风险新闻分享商数（RNSQ），并通过探索性因子分析发现了三个相关因子：(i) 有助于揭穿 FN 的新闻分享行为；(ii) 新闻分享频率和分享态度；(iii) 有助于 FN 传播的新闻分享行为。这项在大学生中进行的研究发现，75%的人报告了传播 FN 的危险新闻分享行为。在认为 FN 是个问题和揭穿 FN 之间没有发现任何联系。此外，83% 的调查参与者无法识别 FN 故事。总体而言，调查结果表明，受访者无法运用相关的FN检测策略知识来揭穿FN，但重要的是，他们显然缺乏检查新闻报道真实性的动机。根据这些结论，我们可以实施更明智的教育干预策略，以就地解决 FN 问题，例如通过提高人们对 FN 的传播会如何阻碍社会正常运转的认识，宣传负责任地分享新闻的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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Education, Citizenship and Social Justice

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