Bridging Deception Detection and Digital False Information: A United States Application of Truth-Default Theory in Online Spaces

There is growing concern about the presence of false information on social media. Drawing on frameworks in the deception detection literature (e.g. the truth-default theory), the current research surveyed 536 individuals and asked them to recall a situation in which they detected information they believed to be false online. Results indicate that while participants often recalled politically relevant examples, gossip and product reviews were also common topics of false information discovery. A majority of individuals reported using after-the-fact evidence to determine the veracity of the content. However, this did not mean that most users explicitly conducted their own research. We discuss the role of false information in online spaces and connect it to the literature on social media and face-to-face deception.