Why do People Disseminate Fictitious Accounts? A Systematic Analysis of snopes.com

People often disseminate fictitious information and contrived anecdotes, some of which can be destructive. This paper explores the proposition that most, if not all, fictitious information can be classified into four clusters. Each cluster reinforces one of four underlying determinants of positive emotions—unambiguous duties, moral authorities, extensive capabilities, and stable values over time. This framework is derived from socio-emotional selectivity theory, self-discrepancy theory, and the meaning maintenance model. To assess these propositions, 1500 fictitious claims, derived from snopes.com, were subjected to thematic analysis. To code these claims, all nouns and verbs were translated to broader categories. Then, researchers sorted these abstracted claims into 88 piles of overlapping accounts. These 88 accounts were next sorted into 19 broader piles, each reflecting a distinct theme. All 19 themes aligned to one of the four underling determinants of positive emotions. These findings indicate that, arguably, the need to curb negative emotions and to foster positive emotions motivates these biased and fictitious accounts. The findings also highlight several distinct avenues in which each of these four needs can be fulfilled. The implications of these findings to a range of issues, from violence and mental illness to advertising and marketing, are discussed