The global spread of misinformation on spiders

Authors

• Stefano Mammola, Luonnontieteellinen KeskusmuseoFollow
• Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte, Luonnontieteellinen Keskusmuseo
• Valeria Arabesky, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
• Diego Alejandro Barrales-Alcalá, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
• Aimee Lynn Barrion-Dupo, University of the Philippines Los Banos
• Marco Antonio Benamú, Universidad de la Republica
• Tharina L. Bird, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History
• Maria Bogomolova, Freelance translator
• Pedro Cardoso, Luonnontieteellinen Keskusmuseo
• Maria Chatzaki, Democritus University of Thrace
• Ren Chung Cheng, National Chung Hsing University
• Tien Ai Chu, National Chung Hsing University
• Leticia M. Classen-Rodríguez, St. Louis University
• Iva Čupić, Croatian Biospeleological Society
• Naufal Urfi Dhiya'ulhaq, Universitas Gadjah Mada
• André Philippe Drapeau Picard, Insectarium de Montréal
• Hisham K. El-Hennawy, Serket
• Mert Elverici, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım Üniversitesi
• Caroline S. Fukushima, Luonnontieteellinen Keskusmuseo
• Zeana Ganem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Efrat Gavish-Regev, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Naledi T. Gonnye, Botswana International University of Science and Technology
• Axel Hacala, Écosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution
• Charles R. Haddad, University of the Free State
• Thomas Hesselberg, University of Oxford
• Tammy Ai Tian Ho, National University of Singapore
• Thanakorn Into, Thammasat University
• Marco Isaia, Università degli Studi di Torino
• Dharmaraj Jayaraman, Sri Vijay Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science
• Nanguei Karuaera, National Museum of Namibia
• Rajashree Khalap, SBS Marg
• Kiran Khalap, SBS Marg
• Dongyoung Kim, Ajou University
• Tuuli Korhonen, Luonnontieteellinen Keskusmuseo
• Laura Segura-Hernández, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• et al.

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

8-22-2022

Citation

Current Biology 32, R855–R873, August 22, 2022, R871-R873

Comments

This is an open access article under the CC BY license

Abstract

In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises1,2. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge3. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider–human interactions, covering stories of spider–human encounters and biting events published from 2010–20204. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation.