Textual vs. Visual Fake News: A Deception Showdown

This paper explores how the textuality or style of contents (IV) affect the mis/disinformation risk of information consumers. Using a 20-item test that consists of 10 purely textual contents and 10 visual contents, the author tested which could likely to be more deceptive (DV1) to the subjects (N=33). The second part of the analysis measured which among the two ignited more Doubt (DV2) among the participants. The main data analysis technique employed for this study is a paired sample t-test. Important findings of the study include the revelation that purely textual contents can be slightly more deceptive, and visual contents can ignite more Doubt. The intended target audience of this paper are information scientists, digital forensic professionals, communication experts, policymakers possibly seeking references on this aspect.