The Psychological Mechanisms and Legal Regulation of Information Manipulation on Social Media

In the algorithm-driven landscape of social media, platform manipulation of user cognition and behavior has become increasingly prominent, shaping public opinion and social perception as a critical influencing factor. Based on psychology and law, the paper defines information manipulation, outlines its primary types and psychological mechanisms, and explores how cognitive bias, emotional drive, and social influence jointly contribute to its systemic influence on individual cognition, public opinion, and information security. By integrating literature review with case analysis, it uncovers key regulatory challenges and puts forward a layered governance model that emphasizes platform accountability, technical oversight, and psychological intervention. The results reveal that information manipulation on social media platforms operates through the interplay of algorithmic filtering, emotional amplification, and social influence, consistently altering user cognition and behavior while posing major challenges to public discourse, emotional autonomy, and information security.