Approaches to Identify Vulnerabilities to Misinformation: A Research Agenda

TL;DR

This paper reviews current research efforts to objectively identify users vulnerable to misinformation by detecting cognitive biases and misinformation spreaders, aiming to improve targeted interventions and address understudied contexts.

Contribution

It highlights two main research avenues for identifying vulnerable users and discusses future opportunities in misinformation vulnerability research.

Findings

Detecting cognitive biases can reveal susceptible users.

Identifying misinformation spreaders helps target interventions.

Future research should explore understudied contexts.

Abstract

Given the prevalence of online misinformation and our scarce cognitive capacity, Internet users have been shown to frequently fall victim to such information. As some studies have investigated psychological factors that make people susceptible to believe or share misinformation, some ongoing research further put these findings into practice by objectively identifying when and which users are vulnerable to misinformation. In this position paper, we highlight two ongoing avenues of research to identify vulnerable users: detecting cognitive biases and exploring misinformation spreaders. We also discuss the potential implications of these objective approaches: discovering more cohorts of vulnerable users and prompting interventions to more effectively address the right group of users. Lastly, we point out two of the understudied contexts for misinformation vulnerability research as opportunities for future research.