The psychology of manipulative visibility in the digital public sphere: a discourse analysis of audience reactions to deceptive Instagram content
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1848882/full
By Emel Yılmaz
Exposure to deceptive digital content doesn’t just mislead individuals; it shapes how they think and learn. This study ties critical thinking development to social and cognitive processes, showing how encounters with misinformation interact with reasoning skills, peer influence, and self-regulation. It explains why some people resist false claims while others adopt them, and it offers practical insights for educators, platforms, and policymakers on boosting skepticism, source evaluation, and reflective thinking in real-time online reading.
