The neural basis of fake news accuracy judgments and sharing decisions

The rapid dissemination of fake news on social media may stem from reduced engagement of accuracy monitoring processes. Although considering the accuracy of information may promote more reflective evaluation, the neural basis underlying accuracy judgments and subsequent sharing decisions remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging with 38 participants who were exposed to true and fake news items in a three-phase task. The whole-brain analysis identified the key role of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) in both accuracy judgments and sharing decisions. Generalized psychophysiological interactions analysis and granger causality analysis further revealed that connectivity from the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) to lDLPFC suggested coordination between cognitive control and evaluative processes during decision-making. These findings provide a process-level characterization of the neural basis underlying accuracy judgments and sharing decisions, and offer insights into how engaging in accuracy evaluation may shape subsequent sharing-related neural processes, with implications for designing strategies to mitigate misinformation online.