What makes us vulnerable to COVID-19 fake news? A critical review of the factors conditioning susceptibility to misinformation

Abstract

COVID-19 has led to a sharp dramatic in the circulation of fake news, which pose a potential danger to public health. It is relevant to determine which citizens are most vulnerable to this phenomenon and, thus, offer elements to promote public policies and digital literacy campaigns that prevent its harmful consequences. Our goal is to carry out a critical review of previous research that brings together, in a comprehensive way, the currently dispersed knowledge. The sample is made up of 200 articles published between 2020 and 2021 in journals indexed in Web of Science. The results show that young people, women, less educated people, conservatives, religious believers, those suffering from mental health issues, social media news consumers or those who trust journalists to a greater extent are the most vulnerable audiences. Our critical analysis also detects a series of pending challenges for future studies in this field.