What causes reticence in publicly correcting false information online? A case study from the Philippines
News audiences on social media succumb to filtering systems to navigate the overabundance of information. However, filtering systems get bolstered by echo chambers, increasing social media polarization, especially when false information hinders better-informed viewpoints. Reticence, though understu...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA), College of Communication and Public Relations, Bucharest
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Romanian Journal of Communications and Public Relations |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journalofcommunication.ro/index.php/journalofcommunication/article/view/595 |
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| Summary: | News audiences on social media succumb to filtering systems to navigate the overabundance of information. However, filtering systems get bolstered by echo chambers, increasing social media polarization, especially when false information hinders better-informed viewpoints. Reticence, though understudied, has the ability to hamper the spread of factual information. Hence, this study aims to investigate why social media users showcase reticence toward publicly correcting false information on their feeds, and how this disposition can affect ideological polarization. Eight interviews were conducted through criterion-based and referral sampling methods, and the resulting transcripts were analyzed through a combination of inductive and deductive approaches. Findings showed that reticence is driven by three interrelated factors: relational, proximal, and cognitive and emotional. This study contributes to the almost-forgotten research theme of reticence in communication and journalism studies, showing why such behavior and its considerations inadvertently contribute to polarization on social media.
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| ISSN: | 1454-8100 2344-5440 |