Digital literacy, misinformation and trust homophily

Digital literacy, or the ability to navigate and evaluate online content effectively, is often proposed as a solution to misinformation. However, evidence suggests that platform familiarity alone does not guarantee improved true/false news discernment; rather, interventions must target reflective reasoning and accuracy salience. This study investigates how social media literacy, source homophily, and informational cues influence misinformation discernment and trust dynamics under time pressure, comparing high-activity (Group 1: >100 tweets/year) and low-activity (Group 2: 0 tweets/year) social media users. We conducted a two-phase online experiment (N = 332) using a between-subjects design. Phase 1 (N = 92) measured baseline accuracy in evaluating news headlines; Phase 2 (N = 240) introduced TRUE/FALSE labels derived from prior participants, manipulated by homophily and choice. Participants were categorized as high-activity (Group 1: >100 tweets/year) or low-activity (Group 2: 0 tweets/year). Results show that Group 1 answered more items and achieved higher raw accuracy, driven by false news detection, but exhibited no advantage in correctedness scores and followed signals—even incorrect ones—more often. Group 2 improved correctedness significantly when exposed to labels but at the expense of time. Findings suggest that platform familiarity fosters speed, not critical reasoning, underscoring the need for literacy programs emphasizing reflective thinking and trust-building.

Caterina Cruciani, Gloria Gardenal, Anna Moretti, Costanza Sartoris, UNIVE