Misinformation is everywhere — but who actually falls for it? In this landmark, cross-national study, Dr. Friedrich M. Götz (PI, PANGEA Lab), Dr. Hyunjin J. Koo (Postdoctoral Researcher, PANGEA Lab), and collaborators from Oxford, Cambridge, and King’s College London administered the Misinformation Susceptibility Test (MIST) to over 66,000 participants across 24 countries.
Using multilevel modelling, the team found that Gen Z, less educated, politically conservative, and non-male individuals were more vulnerable to misinformation. Their findings provide the first comprehensive profile of global misinformation vulnerability, revealing who is most at risk and how accurately people assess their own ability to spot fake news.
The paper has attracted substantial media attention and currently ranks among the top 0.7% of all publications in Personality and Individual Differences.
Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113177
Kyrychenko, Y., Koo, H. J., Maertens, R., Roozenbeek, J., van der Linden, S., & Götz, F. M. (2025). Profiling misinformation susceptibility. Personality and Individual Differences, 241, 113177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113177