Human-Subject Research Strategies on Social Media Misinformation

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Presented at NDSS Symposium 2023 by

Filipo Sharevski

Learning how people deal with misinformation on social media is relatively new line of inquiry as so far the research has focused on narrow information manipulation interventions. As the dissemination and/or discernment of falsehoods is uniquely driven by users’ identity and self-representation on social media, the inquiry into the misinformation “folklore” entails careful balancing between extracting users’ actual behavior traits and ensuring face-saving and dignified participation. In this talk, I will cover the strategies employed in inquires regarding users’ dealings with misinformation on both mainstream platforms (e.g. Twitter, TikTok) and alternative platforms (e.g. Gettr) that rest of substantive data-driven analysis of the platform and/or misinformation issue of interest, pilot testing, and nuanced phenomenological observations. Misinformation as a topic enables abundant social media data to append the analysis of the qualitative user responses, so. I will also cover mixed analytical approaches that enrich the overall human-subject inquiry on social media misinformation.