Others Are to Blame: Whom People Consider Responsible for Online Misinformation

Determining who is responsible for online misinformation is an important problem. This research offers a multifaceted view of the public's perception of who is responsible for online misinformation. Via two studies, we surveyed how people attribute responsibility separately for creating, disseminating, and failing to prevent the dissemination of false information online. Study 1 (N=99) employed a mixed-methods approach to identify a series of actors deemed responsible for each aspect of misinformation. Its open-ended methodology suggested that participants tended to externalize responsibility, which we explored further in the subsequent study. Study 2 (N=496) found that the responsible entities differed for the three distinct aspects of misinformation: online users, news media, and interest groups were associated with creating falsehoods, whereas social media platforms were predominantly seen as accountable for failing to prevent them. Our data shows that blame was directed towards those on the opposite side of the political spectrum, indicating substantial polarization. Most critically, people did not seem to associate themselves with online misinformation and externalized responsibility towards "other users." We discuss implications, including the need to promote personal accountability among users and the social demand for accountable social media platforms and news media.