Untrustworthy sources on Facebook and Instagram in 2020: Concentrated exposure but no attitudinal effects
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Despite concern about exposure to content from untrustworthy sources on social media, little is known about the frequency or effects of exposure to their content. We examine 2020 data from all active US adults on Facebook and Instagram to measure exposure to content from Pages, groups, and web domains on Facebook and public accounts on Instagram that repeatedly publish misinformation. We find that average users saw relatively little content in their feeds from these untrustworthy sources; exposure was highly concentrated. A multimonth field experiment during the 2020 election among consenting users reduced feed-based exposure to content from untrustworthy sources by approximately 70% on both platforms but had no measurable effects on numerous preregistered outcomes, even among participants with high pretreatment exposure. Our results demonstrate that a feasible platform intervention can successfully reduce exposure to content from untrustworthy sources but suggest that these changes are unlikely to have immediate effects on attitudes and beliefs.
Source: Science Advances
Authors: Olivier Bergeron-Boutin, Brendan Nyhan, Jaime Settle, Emily Thorson, Magdalena Wojcieszak, Taylor Brown, Adriana Crespo-Tenorio, Carlos Velasco Rivera, Hunt Allcott, Pablo Barberá, Drew Dimmery, Deen Freelon, Matthew Gentzkow, Sandra González-Bailón, Andrew M. Guess, Edward Kennedy, Young Mie Kim, David Lazer, Neil Malhotra, Devra Moehler, Jennifer Pan, Daniel Robert Thomas, Rebekah Tromble, Arjun Wilkins, Beixian Xiong, Chad Kiewiet de Jonge, Annie Franco, Winter Mason, Natalie Jomini Stroud, Joshua A. Tucker
Institutions: University of California, Berkeley, Dartmouth College, William & Mary, Syracuse University, University of Warsaw, University of California, Davis, Meta (United States), Stanford University, Hertie School, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Northeastern University, Center for Media Engagement, The University of Texas at Austin, New York University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Stanford University, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, New York University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Texas at Austin, Charles Koch Foundation, Meta, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, United Nations Democracy Fund, European Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W7171617153