Does Tone of Comments Matter?: Exploring the Role of Uncivil Comments and Political Orientation on Weakening Belief in Fake News and Eliciting Anger

ABSTRACT Although fake news has become a serious social issue and the detrimental effects of fake news have become more salient in online environments, scholars have not extensively studied the role of uncivil comments posted about fake news. As fake news itself is typically partisan and tends to deceive publics for specific purposes (e.g. gaining support for specific agendas), it usually induces heated discussion and uncivil commenting, especially among politically partisan individuals. Thus, in this study, we explored the effects of uncivil comments following fake news and political orientation on belief in fake news and anger. We used two issues to explore these mechanisms: climate change and immigration. Our results show that uncivil comments following fake news weakened participants’ belief in fake news about climate change. Moreover, uncivil comments made people angrier after viewing fake news about each issue. A significant moderating effect of political orientation on this relationship also emerged. Conservatives, who generally had a lower level of anger toward fake news than liberals, were more likely to feel anger when they viewed uncivil comments rather than civil comments. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.