Resilience to disinformation on social media relies on the user’s ability to critically assess disinformation and even counter it. Active users, who, with their actions, can curate the information environment of others, can play a crucial role in stopping the dissemination of disinformation. Their activities, such as correcting or reporting, in the decentralized social media environment may prove more effective than institutional responses. Considering this, the study looks specifically at how active users engage with disinformation. Through 60 semi-structured interviews over 3 years, we explore how crises like COVID-19 and the Russia–Ukraine war impact Czech users’ motivations and strategies. Findings indicate that users are driven by a moral obligation to provide accurate information. Both people sharing and correcting disinformation believe in their critical skills, with their desire to help amplified by crises. However, the ones correcting often face frustration and demotivation due to hostile interactions and a lack of visible impact, while the ones sharing remain persistent. Strategies are influenced by the perceptions of the individuals and the type of disinformation. Completely false information is often ignored as not worth debunking, whereas partially false information prompts active correction due to the perceived ease of rebuttal. The study highlights the need for social media platforms to support users in corrective actions and address algorithmic issues that may impede these efforts.

中文翻译：

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做正确的事：社交媒体用户在抵御虚假信息中的作用

对社交媒体上虚假信息的抵御能力取决于用户批判性地评估虚假信息甚至反击它的能力。活跃的用户可以通过他们的行动来管理他人的信息环境，可以在阻止虚假信息的传播方面发挥关键作用。他们在去中心化社交媒体环境中的活动，例如纠正或报告，可能被证明比机构化的回应更有效。考虑到这一点，该研究专门研究了活跃用户如何与虚假信息互动。通过在 3 年内进行 60 次半结构化访谈，我们探讨了 COVID-19 和俄乌战争等危机如何影响捷克用户的动机和策略。研究结果表明，用户受到提供准确信息的道德义务的驱使。分享和纠正虚假信息的人都相信他们的批判性技能，他们提供帮助的愿望被危机放大了。然而，由于敌对互动和缺乏可见的影响，纠正者经常面临挫败感和消极感，而分享者则仍然坚持不懈。策略受个人的看法和虚假信息类型的影响。完全错误的信息经常被忽视，因为不值得揭穿，而部分错误的信息由于被认为很容易反驳而促使主动纠正。该研究强调了社交媒体平台需要支持用户采取纠正措施并解决可能阻碍这些努力的算法问题。