BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicMis/Disinformation and Health: Individual, National, and Global ImplicationsView all 5 articles
When it affects me: The role of perceived media influence on self and others in supporting regulation of health misinformation
Provisionally accepted
- Sejong University, Gwangjin-gu, Republic of Korea
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Guided by the Influence of Presumed Media Influence model, this study investigated how exposure to health misinformation shapes public support for regulating such misinformation on social media in the context of COVID-19. An online survey was conducted in South Korea (N = 400), and the data were analyzed using a moderated mediation model with the SPSS PROCESS macro. Results revealed that exposure to COVID-19 misinformation significantly increased perceptions of its influence on others. However, perceived influence on others alone did not predict support for regulation. Instead, the indirect effect of exposure on regulatory support—via presumed influence on others—emerged only when individuals also perceived misinformation as personally affecting themselves. These findings underscore that public support for regulating health misinformation is strongest when misinformation is viewed as a shared health threat, endangering both individuals and the broader community. This suggests that in the context of public health crises, regulatory attitudes are driven not solely by concern for others but by the combined recognition of personal and collective risks. The study offers theoretical insights and practical implications for policymakers, health communicators, and social media platforms seeking to design policies or interventions that pro tect public health by countering misinformation.
Keywords: COVID-19, Health Communication, health misinformation, Health Policy, information regulation, presumed media influence
Received: 15 Sep 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mihee Kim
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