The Link Between a User's Religion and Mis/Disinformation Vulnerability

This paper examines how a user's religion contributes to susceptibility to falling prey to misinformation and disinformation attacks. An experimental survey (N=73) was exclusively deployed in a swing state in the United States, where participants were tested on their ability to discern facts against misleading news content. The findings suggest the weak effect of religion as a determinant of mis/disinformation vulnerability. Christians performed poorly on detection accuracy compared to their counterparts, Catholics, and Atheists (i.e., No religious affiliation). The intended target audiences of this paper are information scientists, digital forensic professionals, communication experts, and policymakers, possibly seeking references in this application area.