Disinformation, Psychosocial Vulnerability, and Media Trust in the Digital Era: Implications for Health Behaviour and Societal Resilience

Disinformation, amplified by digital platforms and algorithmic distribution systems, represents a growing challenge for media trust, public health communication, and societal stability. This narrative literature review examines disinformation through an integrative psychosocial perspective, focusing on how patterns of exposure interact with individual vulnerability factors—including education, political beliefs, social identity, personality traits, and emotional responses to uncertainty—to influence the processing and acceptance of misleading information. The review synthesises interdisciplinary evidence on how algorithmic amplification and emotionally salient content increase susceptibility to disinformation and shape risk perception, health-related decision-making, and preventive behaviours. Findings indicate that repeated exposure to false or misleading information reinforces perceived credibility through familiarity effects, contributes to declining trust in institutional sources, and intensifies social and political polarisation. Disinformation is therefore conceptualised not only as an informational problem but also as a psychosocial process affecting emotional regulation, cognitive evaluation, and collective responses to crises, particularly in public health contexts. The analysis further highlights a recursive feedback loop in which reduced media trust increases vulnerability to subsequent disinformation, with broader implications for democratic participation and social cohesion. Mitigation strategies discussed include media literacy initiatives, critical thinking education, platform governance, regulatory approaches, and interventions targeting psychosocial drivers of susceptibility.