|
@Sacha_Altay | |||||
|
🚨 New preprint with @hugoreasoning & Nicolas Claidière on rumor diffusion 🚨
We explain why so many rumors (like the ones below) are attributed to a credible friend of a friend.
Pre-print: psyarxiv.com/5czka
1/5 pic.twitter.com/dxPuzYBoyU
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Sacha Altay
@Sacha_Altay
|
25. sij |
|
Key findings:
(i) Attribution to a credible friend of a friend increased a rumor’s perceived plausibility, and participants’ willingness to share it.
2/5
|
||
|
|
||
|
Sacha Altay
@Sacha_Altay
|
25. sij |
|
(ii) Credible friend of a friend attributions remained stable across multiple transmissions, instead of the number of friends mentioned increasing with each transmission, i.e. participants systematically shortened the sources when sharing the rumors.
3/5
|
||
|
|
||
|
Sacha Altay
@Sacha_Altay
|
25. sij |
|
(iii) Rumors attributed to a single (not credible) friend dominated linear transmission chains. But ecological transmission chains taking into account redundancy allowed the credible friend of a friend to persist or dominate—as it seems to be the case in the wild.
4/5
|
||
|
|
||
|
Sacha Altay
@Sacha_Altay
|
25. sij |
|
(iv) This preference for attributing rumors to a credible friend of a friend may reflect reputation management considerations. Notably by allowing senders to score social points while minimizing their epistemic responsibility in case the rumor turns out to be false.
5/5
|
||
|
|
||