What Makes News Sharable on Social Media?

With the rise of social media, everyone has the potential to be both a consumer and producer of online content. As a result, the role that word of mouth plays in news consumption has been dramatically increased. Although one might assume that consumers share news because they believe it to be true, widespread concerns about the spread of misinformation suggest that truthfulness may actually not be a dominant driver of sharing online. Across two studies with 5,000 participants, we investigate what makes news sharable on social media. We find that sharing is positively predicted by two separate factors. One factor does involve the headline’s perceived accuracy, as well as its familiarity. The second, however, involves the headline’s perceived importance and emotional evocativeness. This second factor is negatively associated with the headline’s objective veracity, and less decision weight is put on the second factor by subjects with more cognitive reflection and political knowledge, and by subjects who are less politically conservative. These findings have important implications for news publishers, social media platforms, and society at large.