Fake News in the Family: How Family Communication Patterns and Conflict History Affect the Intent to Correct Misinformation Among Family Members

ABSTRACT

Do family communication patterns or family conflict history affect the intention to correct misinformation shared by family members? A pre-registered online survey with a U.S. sample (N = 595) was conducted to answer this question. Results revealed that conversation orientation and conformity orientation positively predicted the intention to correct misinformation shared by a family member while family history was negatively related with intent. Theoretical implications for family communication research and study of misinformation correction are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Conflict history
• fake news
• family communication patterns
• misinformation
• presumed influence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

T. Franklin Waddell

T. Franklin Waddell (Ph.D., Penn State) is an associate professor in the College of Journalism and Communication at the University of Florida. His research addresses emerging technological and ethical issues at the intersection of journalism and online storytelling including topics such as automated journalism, online comments, and entertainment portrayals of female reporters.

Chelsea Moss

Chelsea Moss (MA, Purdue) is a third year doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the College of Journalism and Communication at the University of Florida. Her research interests are at the intersection of entertainment media and family communication, both how families are portrayed in media, as well as how real-world family members navigate and discuss their media consumption