Fake News and Social Networks: How Users Interact with Fake Content

Abstract

Fake news, fabricated stories, rumours, misleading headlines (the so-called clickbaits) are nothing new. The difference of the current context is how fast and wide they spread online, mainly through social network websites, reaching sometimes millions of users. Recently, this problem gained visibility due to its influence on political systems, especially electoral processes and political polarization. The current study addresses these matters, studying how users interact with news in social media platforms, with a deeper insight concerning Facebook and Twitter. The findings not only provide evidence of the importance of social networks as gateways for news, but our data also shows that consumer trust in news is worryingly low, combined with high levels of concern about false news stories.