Commentary highlights the need to reassess convenience samples in misinformation research, indicating important contexts in the Global South.
What if nearly everything we think we know about misinformation came from just a sliver of the world? When research leans heavily on online studies from a few wealthy nations, we risk drawing global conclusions from local noise. A WhatsApp group of fishermen, a displaced community in a refugee camp, or a bustling market in the Global South are not marginal examples of information environments; such contexts call for an evolution of how we study misinformation. In this commentary, I argue that progress in misinformation studies requires expanding methodological reach beyond convenience samples, critically reassessing causal assumptions, engaging in participatory intervention design, and incorporating insights from both encrypted and offline information networks to develop more contextually grounded and globally relevant strategies.
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