Individual misinformation tagging reinforces echo chambers; Collective tagging does not

Abstract

Fears about the destabilizing impact of misinformation online have motivated individuals and platforms to respond. Individuals have become empowered to challenge others’ online claims with fact-checks in pursuit of a healthier information ecosystem and to break down echo chambers of self-reinforcing opinion. Using Twitter data, here we show the consequences of individual misinformation tagging: tagged posters had explored novel political information and expanded topical interests immediately prior, but being tagged caused posters to retreat into information bubbles. These unintended consequences were softened by a collective verification system for misinformation moderation. In Twitter’s new platform, Community Notes, misinformation tagging was peer-reviewed by other fact-checkers before the exposure. With collective misinformation tagging, posters were less likely to retreat from diverse information consumption. Detailed comparison suggests differences in toxicity, sentiment, readability, and delay in individual versus collective misinformation tagging messages. These findings provide evidence for differential impacts from individual versus collective moderation strategies on the diversity of information consumption and mobility across the information ecosystem.