Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal
As our society increasingly relies on digital platforms for information, the spread of fake news has become a pressing concern. This study investigates the ability of Greek and Portuguese Instagram users to identify fake news, highlighting the influence of cultural differences. The responses of 220...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Information |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/16/1/41 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588350405476352 |
|---|---|
| author | Evangelia Pothitou Maria Perifanou Anastasios A. Economides |
| author_facet | Evangelia Pothitou Maria Perifanou Anastasios A. Economides |
| author_sort | Evangelia Pothitou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As our society increasingly relies on digital platforms for information, the spread of fake news has become a pressing concern. This study investigates the ability of Greek and Portuguese Instagram users to identify fake news, highlighting the influence of cultural differences. The responses of 220 Instagram users were collected through questionnaires in Greece and Portugal. The data analysis investigates characteristics of Instagram posts, social endorsement, and platform usage duration. The results reveal distinct user behaviors: Greeks exhibit a unique inclination towards social connections, displaying an increased trust in friends’ content and investing more time on Instagram, reflecting the importance of personal connections in their media consumption. They also give less importance to a certain post’s characteristics, such as content opposing personal beliefs, emotional language, and poor grammar, spelling, or formatting when identifying fake news, compared to the Portuguese, suggesting a weaker emphasis on content quality in their evaluations. These findings show that cultural differences affect how people behave on Instagram. Hence, content creators, platforms, and policymakers need specific plans to make online spaces more informative. Strategies should focus on enhancing awareness of key indicators of fake news, such as linguistic quality and post structure, while addressing the role of personal and social networks in the spread of misinformation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76520918ab2746c197d5e415c3a1c00c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2078-2489 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Information |
| spelling | doaj-art-76520918ab2746c197d5e415c3a1c00c2025-01-24T13:35:15ZengMDPI AGInformation2078-24892025-01-011614110.3390/info16010041Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and PortugalEvangelia Pothitou0Maria Perifanou1Anastasios A. Economides2Department of Economics, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceSMILE Lab, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceSMILE Lab, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, GreeceAs our society increasingly relies on digital platforms for information, the spread of fake news has become a pressing concern. This study investigates the ability of Greek and Portuguese Instagram users to identify fake news, highlighting the influence of cultural differences. The responses of 220 Instagram users were collected through questionnaires in Greece and Portugal. The data analysis investigates characteristics of Instagram posts, social endorsement, and platform usage duration. The results reveal distinct user behaviors: Greeks exhibit a unique inclination towards social connections, displaying an increased trust in friends’ content and investing more time on Instagram, reflecting the importance of personal connections in their media consumption. They also give less importance to a certain post’s characteristics, such as content opposing personal beliefs, emotional language, and poor grammar, spelling, or formatting when identifying fake news, compared to the Portuguese, suggesting a weaker emphasis on content quality in their evaluations. These findings show that cultural differences affect how people behave on Instagram. Hence, content creators, platforms, and policymakers need specific plans to make online spaces more informative. Strategies should focus on enhancing awareness of key indicators of fake news, such as linguistic quality and post structure, while addressing the role of personal and social networks in the spread of misinformation.https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/16/1/41culturedisinformationfake newsGreeceInstagrammisinformation |
| spellingShingle | Evangelia Pothitou Maria Perifanou Anastasios A. Economides Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal Information culture disinformation fake news Greece misinformation |
| title | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal |
| title_full | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal |
| title_fullStr | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal |
| title_short | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Fake News: A Comparative Study of Instagram Users in Greece and Portugal |
| title_sort | cross cultural perspectives on fake news a comparative study of instagram users in greece and portugal |
| topic | culture disinformation fake news Greece misinformation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/16/1/41 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evangeliapothitou crossculturalperspectivesonfakenewsacomparativestudyofinstagramusersingreeceandportugal AT mariaperifanou crossculturalperspectivesonfakenewsacomparativestudyofinstagramusersingreeceandportugal AT anastasiosaeconomides crossculturalperspectivesonfakenewsacomparativestudyofinstagramusersingreeceandportugal |