‘Misinformation? What of it?’ Motivations and individual differences in misinformation sharing on social media

Abstract Misinformation is common on social media. This causes misunderstanding and compromises the credibility of the medium. What motivates individuals to share inaccurate information? Are there individual differences? This study surveyed 171 university students on 16 motivations. Potential differences in motivations by gender and the Big Five personality traits were tested with multiple regression. The study found that the respondents considered truthfulness to be quite important, but over two‐thirds of them had still shared misinformation. The top motivations of misinformation sharing were: to obtain others' opinions on that information, to express own opinions, and to interact with others. Gender showed no significant differences, but personality did. Extroverts, for example, were more prone to share misinformation for socializing purpose. The findings suggest that it is beneficial to include affective and motivational factors in information behavior research. Information literacy training may also draw from the attitude change literature to deliver training that combines knowledge on information evaluation and sharing with affective messages that target individuals' motivations such as their interest in self‐expression.