{
  "abstract": "IntroductionWhy do corrections underperform misinformation at the network level? We distinguish a correction-sharing disadvantage (lower willingness to transmit corrections) from a correction-timing disadvantage (corrections enter after misinformation gains a first-mover advantage).MethodsStudy 1 compared self-reported forwarding likelihood across misinformation, matched detailed corrections, and corrections presented after instructions to assume prior misinformation forwarding among 266 Chinese participants using three health-message pairs. Study 2 used the ratings as a relative propensity profile, not calibrated platform probabilities, in a competitive agent-based model across Barabási–Albert, Erdős–Rényi, and Watts–Strogatz networks. We varied transmission intensity, onset delay, seed supply, and placement. Temporal catch-up cost (TCC) was the smallest tested correction-to-misinformation seed ratio restoring the immediate equal-seeding cumulative-coverage reduction, minus 1.ResultsUnder the present asymmetrically labeled conditions, direct corrections elicited higher stated forwarding likelihood than misinformation (mean difference = 1.24, 95% CI [0.52, 1.96], Hedges’ g = 0.63), whereas assumed prior forwarding did not significantly reduce correction forwarding (mean difference = 0.35, 95% CI [−0.37, 1.07]). Across three regimes, all 18 equal-seeding delay penalties were positive and increased with delay and transmission intensity. After one generation, all nine regime-topology combinations recovered the benchmark within the grid (TCC = 0.80–7.60); after two generations, outcomes ranged from finite recovery to failure within the grid and, for BA under the reference regime, model-implied unattainability. Reference-regime degree targeting especially reduced BA catch-up requirements.DiscussionThese hypothetical intentions are susceptible to social desirability and the intention–behavior gap; because labeling differed across conditions, they do not isolate correction content from disclosed veracity or corrective framing. Correction difficulty can therefore emerge despite higher stated correction-forwarding likelihood under disclosed labels; the thresholds are conditional model comparisons, not platform-specific resource or clock-time estimates.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China",
    "School of Media and Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China",
    "School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China",
    "School of Journalism and New Media, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wuyao Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wuyao Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zhangyu Cheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yan Ge"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yan Ge"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f8cpawxbhhyvk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fphy.2026.1953841",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2026.1953841/full",
  "id": "f8cpawxbhhyvk",
  "issns": [
    "2296-424X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2026.1953841",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "QC1-999"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3312|Misinformation and Its Impacts"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223695906",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physics/articles/10.3389/fphy.2026.1953841/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media S.A.",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f8cpawxbhhyvk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:47:19Z",
      "native_id": "544f177dd9e247cc9edf1c8938753d82",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2026.1953841"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "lcc:QC1-999",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "From sharing propensity to diffusion control: temporal catch-up costs of delayed misinformation correction",
  "title_text": "From sharing propensity to diffusion control: temporal catch-up costs of delayed misinformation correction",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:47:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f8cpawxbhhyvk",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Physics",
  "versions": []
}