Impact of Human and Economic Development on Fake News Propensity during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic augmented the propensity for fake news globally. Today, over 90% of the global population depends on the internet for information. However, there is an enormous difference in fake news propensity in different countries. Thus, one must understand what factors influence the propensity for fake news during the COVID-19 crisis. Leveraging prior literature on fake news, the authors theorize the relationship between human and economic development and fake news propensity within nations. They analyzed the proposed model on a dataset generated from 104 countries. The research finds that a level of human development did not affect a nation’s fake news propensity, while a higher level of economic development curbed its fake news propensity. This research extends prior IS research on fake news at the macro level and aims to better inform governments and policymakers in designing future crisis-proof policies to curb fake news.