Disinformation and Mutual Trust: An Economic Model

Information or disinformation is more likely to be believed when it originates from a trusted person or source, indicating that the impact of disinformation varies significantly based on the level of trust involved. Additionally, one individual's judgment can be influenced by the judgments of others, and conversely, an individual's judgment can influence those around them. To explore this dynamic, the author constructs a model for uncovering disinformation and integrates it with a model of disinformation dissemination. The findings show that as the level of mutual trust within an economy or society rises, the likelihood of uncovering disinformation increases. Furthermore, a high level of mutual trust significantly reduces the acceptance and belief in disinformation, which in turn enhances the efficiency of various economic activities. Thus, mutual trust emerges as a key factor in achieving high levels of economic, social, and potentially political performance.Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.