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. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):31274.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-82696-x.

Using ERPs to unveil the authenticity evaluation and neural response to online rumors

Yi Ding #  1 , Xinyue Yang  2 , Wengang Zhang #  1 , Wei Lyu  3 , Mia Y Wang  4
Affiliations

Using ERPs to unveil the authenticity evaluation and neural response to online rumors

Yi Ding et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The rapid propagation of information in the digital epoch has brought a surge of rumors, creating a significant societal challenge. While prior research has primarily focused on the psychological aspects of rumors-such as the beliefs, behaviors, and persistence they evoke-there has been limited exploration of how rumors are processed in the brain. In this study, we experimented to examine both behavioral responses and EEG data during rumor detection. Participants evaluated the credibility of 80 randomly presented rumors, and only 22% were able to identify false rumors more accurately than by random chance. Our ERP findings reveal that truth judgments elicit stronger negative ERP responses (N400) compared to false judgments, while false judgments are associated with larger positive ERP responses (P2, P3, and LPP). Additionally, we identified gender differences in brain activity related to rumor detection, suggesting distinct cognitive strategies. Men demonstrated greater P2 and enhanced N400 responses, while women exhibited larger P3 and LPP amplitudes. This study is among the first to investigate the neural patterns underlying rumors recognition and to highlight gender disparities in decision-making related to rumors.

Keywords: Credibility; Event related potentials; Online rumors; Social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All participants of the study provided written informed consent. All authors disclose no actual or potential conflicts of interest including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Institute of Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology of Anhui Polytechnic University (AHPU-SEM-2021-002).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A sample of information is shown to participants. They need to judge the truth of the presented information.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The process of experiment.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The 64 Ag/AgCl electrodes used in the experiment.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The process of Brain signal recording and analysis.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Behavioral results are shown as violin plots. (A) Violin plot quantitative analysis of response time from two response types. (B) Violin plot quantitative analysis of response time from COVID-19 and other headlines. (C) Violin plot quantitative analysis of detection rate from COVID-19 and other headlines.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Grand average waveforms for four representative electrodes on the P2 and P3 components (time windows are marked in the rectangle).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Grand average waveforms for four representative electrodes on the N400 and LPP components (time windows are marked in the rectangle).
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Topographic distributions of P2 and P3 differences between true and false.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Topographic distributions of N400 and LPP differences between true and false.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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