Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2026-09-20
Number: 26-072/VII
Author-Name: Dana Sisak
Author-Workplace-Name: Erasmus University Rotterdam 
Author-Name: Philipp Denter
Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Title: Truth, Lies, and Social Ties: When Image Concerns Fuel Fake News
Abstract: We study how social image concerns shape information sharing among peers. Individuals receive a signal about a binary state with an observable direction and a veracity that can be learned only through costly verification, which depends on type. We analyze two motives: a desire to appear competent and a desire to signal one's worldview. For each, we characterize equilibrium sharing, derive implications for the relative diffusion of true versus false news, and compare welfare. The two motives can both generate greater sharing of false than factual news but imply distinct, testable patterns which we relate to existing empirical evidence.
Classification-JEL: D72, D83
Keywords: P2P Information Sharing, Social Image, Signaling, Fake News
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/26072.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 1.183.011 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20260072