From Truth-Oriented to False-Oriented Judgments: How Consecutive False or True Information Exposure Shapes Veracity Judgments on Social Media

Abstract

Despite the pervasiveness of misinformation, it remains unclear how repeated exposure to falsity shapes veracity judgments. We conducted an online experiment (N = 499) in which participants were exposed to false and true health and science information presented either consecutively or in a balanced mix. Consecutive exposure to false information increased the likelihood of judging subsequent information as false while simultaneously improving judgment accuracy and confidence-weighted accuracy. These findings suggest that shifts in judgment orientation induced by repeated exposure to false information reflect adaptive epistemic vigilance, highlighting how informational contexts shape veracity judgments under conditions of triggered evaluation.