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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

The limited effects of social media use on misperceptions Social media’s limited role in misperceptions

  • Qin Li1
  • Robert M. Bond2
  • Erik Nisbet3
  • Graham Dixon4
  • Shelly Hovick
  • Kilhoe Na
  • Duane Wegener
  • R. Kelly Garrett
4 affiliations
  1. 1School of Communication, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
  2. 2School of Communication, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
  3. 3Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, United States of America
  4. 4Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
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Abstract

Social media use has the potential to promote misperceptions, but evidence is mixed. Despite social media characteristics that include homophilous social networks, algorithms that can reinforce biases, and social bots that promote falsehoods, there is no evidence of a strong association between social media use and misperceptions. This project offers the strongest empirical test of this relation to date, providing additional evidence of the minimal effects of social media use on misperceptions. Data come from two independent large-N panel studies, each paired with online tracking data, one focused on the 2020 election and the other on the COVID-19 pandemic. Within-between regression models show that social media use was not associated with a statistically significant decline in Americans’ ability to discriminate between true and false claims on any of the four platforms examined—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{li2026limited,
  title = {{The limited effects of social media use on misperceptions Social media’s limited role in misperceptions}},
  author = {Qin Li and Robert M. Bond and Erik Nisbet and Graham Dixon and Shelly Hovick and Kilhoe Na and Duane Wegener and R. Kelly Garrett},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0354486},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354486},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The limited effects of social media use on misperceptions Social media’s limited role in misperceptions
AU  - Qin Li
AU  - Robert M. Bond
AU  - Erik Nisbet
AU  - Graham Dixon
AU  - Shelly Hovick
AU  - Kilhoe Na
AU  - Duane Wegener
AU  - R. Kelly Garrett
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0354486
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354486
AB  - Social media use has the potential to promote misperceptions, but evidence is mixed. Despite social media characteristics that include homophilous social networks, algorithms that can reinforce biases, and social bots that promote falsehoods, there is no evidence of a strong association between social media use and misperceptions. This project offers the strongest empirical test of this relation to date, providing additional evidence of the minimal effects of social media use on misperceptions. Data come from two independent large-N panel studies, each paired with online tracking data, one focused on the 2020 election and the other on the COVID-19 pandemic. Within-between regression models show that social media use was not associated with a statistically significant decline in Americans’ ability to discriminate between true and false claims on any of the four platforms examined—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -