Support for misinformation regulation on social media: It is the perceived harm of misinformation that matters, not the perceived amount

Responding to harmful content on social media, calls for regulations are coming up to break down the black boxes of social media platforms in handling misinformation. Examples are requiring cooperations with fact-checkers or the government stepping in. So far, there is a lack of knowledge about predictors of policy attitudes in the context of misinformation besides attitudes toward and perceptions of censorship. Using a two-wave panel study in Germany at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and 8 months in, we examine the role of perceived misinformation exposure, perceived harm of misinformation, and trust in institutions involved in regulating misinformation on public support for misinformation regulation. Results show that trust in media and democracy increases policy support over time. Furthermore, perceived exposure to misinformation does not influence policy attitudes, but perceived harm of misinformation does. We discuss the implications for regulating misinformation in light of our findings. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)打(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)处(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)黑匣offspring.(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).迄(sic)(sic)<SIC>?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)轮(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)冠疫(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)??(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)--(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)--(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)逐渐(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)?(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)<SIC>(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic). En respuesta al contenido danino en las redes sociales, estan surgiendo pedidos de regulaciones para romper las cajas negras de las plataformas de redes sociales en el manejo de la informacion erronea. Los ejemplos requieren cooperaciones con los verificadores de hechos o la intervencion del gobierno. Hasta el momento, hay una falta de conocimiento sobre los predictores de las actitudes politicas en el contexto de la desinformacion, ademas de las actitudes y percepciones de la censura. Utilizando un estudio de panel de dos olas en Alemania al comienzo de la pandemia de COVID-19 y ocho meses despues, examinamos el papel de la exposicion a la informacion erronea percibida, el dano percibido de la informacion erronea y la confianza en las instituciones involucradas en la regulacion de la informacion erronea sobre el apoyo publico a la informacion erronea. regulacion. Los resultados muestran que la confianza en los medios y la democracia aumentan el apoyo a las politicas con el tiempo. Ademas, la exposicion percibida a la informacion erronea no influye en las actitudes politicas, pero si el dano percibido de la informacion erronea. Discutimos las implicaciones para regular la desinformacion a la luz de nuestros hallazgos.