Who believes political fake news? The role of conspiracy mentality, patriotism, perceived threat to freedom, media literacy and concern for disinformation

Understanding individual susceptibility to political fake news is critical because fake news can target specific psychological profiles of vulnerable individuals. Consequently, this research examines five individual risk (i.e. susceptibility) and resilience (i.e. protective) factors, conspiracy mentality, patriotism, perceived threat to freedom, media literacy and concern for disinformation, to determine if they inform belief in political fake news and subsequently, to what degree belief impacts private engagement with political fake news.

Using a fictional political fake news stimulus, the authors conducted a deductive thematic analysis of 10 semi-structured interviews and an online survey of 722 United Kingdom (UK) citizens analysed using structural equation modelling.

Conspiracy mentality and patriotism were positively associated with belief in political fake news, while media literacy and concern for disinformation were negatively associated with belief in political fake news. Perceived threat to freedom was a strong theme in the qualitative data but had no statistical effect on belief in political fake news. Belief in political fake news was positively associated with further engagement with the fake news story, acting as a mediator in the model.

Distinct from previous research that focuses on partisanship and sharing behaviour, this research forwards a model underpinned by social identity theory to build an integrated understanding of political fake news belief. The results demonstrate that political identity motivations beyond partisanship are salient when examining individual susceptibility to political fake news and that belief in political fake news plays a core role in understanding subsequent private engagement with the story.