ABSTRACT
Chapter 9 of this book examines the spread of news and information on social media and the reasons why people share it. It also looks at who is most likely to fall victim to fake news and conspiracy theories and whether or not social media erodes democracy. The chapter defines and discusses phenomena such as echo chambers and filter bubbles and introduces the concepts of misinformation and disinformation. It also explores why people spread misinformation on social media and examines social media conspiracy theories as a unique issue. Contrary to the belief that social media widely spreads conspiracy theories and misinformation, the chapter presents evidence suggesting that such theories tend to be accepted by people who are already predisposed to believe them.
