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Personality Traits and Fake News Susceptibility

Research examining how stable personality dimensions predict individual differences in belief in, sharing of, and resistance to misinformation. The most common framework is the Big Five model of personality (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism), which has shown consistent associations with rumor and misinformation susceptibility across studies.

Key empirical findings: - High Agreeableness → increased belief in rumors and fake news; tendency toward social harmony and acceptance of others' claims - High Neuroticism → increased anxiety-driven belief in threat-related misinformation and conspiracy theories - Low Conscientiousness → reduced critical evaluation of sources and claims - Low Openness → reduced exposure to diverse viewpoints; preference for confirming information

Research distinguishes between passive belief (being convinced of falsehood) and active sharing (propagating false claims to others). Personality effects vary by misinformation topic (political vs. health vs. conspiracy theories).

Key papers