Social media attention relates to climate change misinformation correction through presumed media influence on others and issue salience

The rapid spread of misinformation in digital environments raises concerns about how individuals engage in corrective actions. Although social media users increasingly participate in practices such as public correction, private clarification, refutation, and fact-checking, the psychological processes associated with these behaviors remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the associations between social media attention and misinformation correction behaviors via two factors: presumed media influence on others (PMIO) and issue salience.

Using survey data from 1,392 social media users and structural equation modelling, the results indicate that social media attention is positively associated with multiple forms of corrective behavior through both PMIO and issue salience. Issue salience shows a stronger and more consistent association across all forms of correction, whereas the association between PMIO and corrective behavior varies by perceived responsibility. Specifically, PMIO is associated with correction primarily among individuals with higher levels of perceived responsibility.

These findings suggest that both cognitive and normative factors are linked to user-driven misinformation correction in climate change contexts. The study provides empirical evidence on how attention relates to corrective behavior and highlights individual-level variation in responses to misinformation in digital environments. This research was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 24XXW002) awarded to Tianqi Deng.

School of Journalism and Communication, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China Correspondence to Dajun Li, Liang Chen or Lunrui Fu. The authors declare no competing interests. All methods in this study were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant guidelines and regulations.

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Ningxia University (Ref No: 02/2025/NXU). This online survey was anonymous. Completion of the questionnaire was taken as informed consent for participation.

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