The role of individual differences in false memory formation for earthquake-related fake news

How individuals remember events can affect not only their memories of the past but also their decisions in the future. Fake news is found to be affecting how people recall events. Recent studies on false memory showed that people recall fabricated events that are mentioned in fake news that never happened, as if they had happened. Considering Istanbul's serious earthquake risk, misinformation about events and facts about earthquakes spreading via fake news is extremely dangerous for the public's safety. Thus, understanding how fake news about earthquakes affects false memory formation and which individual factors play a role in this process is important. This study examined the tendency of university students aged 18 to 25 (N = 139) to develop false memories when exposed to fake news about earthquakes. Participants were presented with a total of eight earthquake news stories, four real and four fake. Afterward, their memory of the news stories was assessed. The present study analyzed how individual differences in earthquake fear, cognitive thinking style, and earthquake knowledge play a role in the formation of false memories and how they affect the probability of developing false memories. 42% of participants reported at least one false memory for earthquake-related fake news. Analytical thinking significantly reduced false memory susceptibility and also mediated the relationship between earthquake knowledge and false memory. Fear of earthquakes had no direct effect, though it was positively associated with earthquake knowledge. The current study's findings can contribute to the literature by providing information that is necessary to create interventions for disaster awareness.