From Media Attention to Corrective Action: Extending the IPMI Model with a Multigroup Comparison by Media Literacy

Food health misinformation poses risks to public well-being, often spreading through social media and interpersonal contexts. This study extends the Influence of Presumed Media Influence (IPMI) model to explain how individuals move from attention to misinformation toward corrective behavioral intentions, while examining the moderating role of media literacy. Data were collected from a national online survey of 1021 Chinese adults, measuring media attention, presumed exposure of others, perceived negative influence, personal norms, media literacy, and correction intentions. Structural equation modeling supported a positive serial mediation chain, in which media attention was positively associated with presumed exposure of others, which in turn positively predicted presumed negative influence on others, leading to stronger personal norms and, ultimately, greater corrective behavioral intentions. Multi-group analysis showed that media literacy moderated this process: lower literacy amplified the link from perceived influence to norms, while higher literacy strengthened the link from norms to behavior. These findings advance the IPMI framework by highlighting media literacy as a critical boundary condition and suggest that interventions should not only correct misinformation but also foster responsibility for others and enhance media literacy to encourage user-driven corrections.