In what style shall I confront them? The role of social relationships in social correction of misinformation among the UK and Arab Social media users

This study investigates how social factors influence the likelihood of employing direct or indirect communication styles when correcting misinformation on social media in two different cultural contexts, the United Kingdom (UK) and the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. We conducted an online survey, supported by vignettes, that involved 686 participants, 367 from the UK and 319 from the Arab GCC countries. Participants were presented with a misinformation scenario and asked about their likelihood of using direct or indirect communication styles to correct their acquaintances. The survey captured variations in gender similarity (same vs. different gender), social status (lower vs. qual vs. higher), and social distance (close vs. distant) between the participants and the misinformation posters. The results indicated that Arab participants were more likely than their UK counterparts to use the direct correction style. Furthermore, social factors significantly influenced corrective behaviours in both groups. Participants were less inclined to correct someone of a different gender, higher social status, or someone who was socially distant from them. The gender factor played a significant role in the UK context, whereas in the Arab context, it was less influential. These findings provide valuable insights for designing relationship-aware and culturally tailored interventions (e.g., features or prompts on social media platforms) that promote social corrections. • We examine how individuals use communication styles to combat misinformation in UK and Arab social media. • Cultural context impacts correction styles: Arabs favour direct communication more than UK participants. • Users are less inclined to correct someone of different gender, higher status, or who is socially distant in both contexts. • The gender factor plays a significant role in influencing communication styles usage in the UK context only.