Digital Commons Network^™

Curbing The Spread Of Disinformation Through User Interface Design, Mary Margaret Herring

Communication Honors Theses

Solutions to the problem of the spread of disinformation have come from a variety of disciplines. However, little academic research has examined the whether or not the user interface design of social media platforms could affect the spread of disinformation. Drawing from research from the uses and gratifications paradigm and technological affordances, this study examines user behavior on three versions of a researcher-created news sharing social networking service, called "The Hive." Findings were inconclusive about the modifications tested in this study but nevertheless revealed interesting patterns in user behavior. This project, by closely examining the relationship between user interface design …