Who falls for fake news? The role of emotional intelligence

In this study we investigated whether participants level of emotional intelligence (EQ) was associated with their ability to detect fake news items presented in a real world Facebook format Objective: Is High EQ associated with greater fake news detection rates (i.e. are those high in emotional intelligence better at seeing through the emotional content of the news item, leading to a great focus on the veracity of the content

Editorial : The psychology of fake news on social media, who falls for it, who shares it, why, and can we help users detect it?

The proliferation of fake news on social media has become a major societal concern which has been shown to impact elections, referenda, and effective public health messaging (Lewandowsky et al., 2017). To combat this, there is now a growing body of research that focuses on the role of psychological and behavioural science in understanding and mitigating the spread of misinformation (Rapp & Salovich, 2018;Van Bavel et al., 2020). For example, research on belief revision has reported a 'continued influence effect' (CIE) where misinformation lingers in the mind of a person despite being categorically refuted (e.g., Ecker et al., 2010;Desai et al., 2020), simulations have attempted to replicate the seepage of misinformation in social networks (Lewandowsky et al., 2019), and inoculation theorists are building training tools to understand and enhance psychological resistance against misinformation. Such attempts have been conducted in the context of COVID-19 (Basol et al., 2021), political disinformation (Roozenbeek & van der Linden, 2020), and climate change (Maertens et al., 2020). While it is clear that important advances have been made in our understanding of the critical psychological functions that underpin how individuals seek out, process, and share misinformation -there is still much to do. Therefore, in this special topic, we are delighted to introduce six new papers which present novel, interesting, and engaging contributions to our understanding of the fake news phenomenon

Fostering support for non-democratic rule? Controlled political liberalization and popular support for non-democratic regimes

When the Cold War ended, many non-democratic regimes across the globe embarked on a course of controlled political liberalization, hoping to stabilize their autocratic rule by mitigating popular demands for democratization and increasing regime legitimacy. But does this strategy actually work? This article uses multi-level analyses to examine how the degree of political liberalization affects regime support in non-democratic political systems and to ascertain which mechanisms underlie this effect. Drawing on aggregate measures of political liberalization and comparative survey data from four regional survey projects and 31 non-democracies, the study's results indicate that the degree of liberalization has no decisively positive effect on regime support, suggesting controlled political liberalization might not be an effective legitimizing strategy after all.Nach Ende des Kalten Krieges haben viele nicht-demokratische Regime weltweit einen Kurs der begrenzten politischen Öffnung eingeschlagen, um öffentliche Forderungen nach Demokratisierung zu entschärfen und auf diese Weise die Legitimität ihrer autokratischen Herrschaft zu erhöhen. Doch ist diese Strategie tatsächlich effektiv? Der Beitrag verwendet Mehrebenenanalysen, um zu untersuchen wie der Grad an politischer Öffnung die Regimerunterstützung in nicht-demokratischen politischen Systemen beeinflusst. Auf Basis von Aggregatmaßen zur politischen Öffnung und Individualdaten aus vier regionalen Umfrageprojekten und 31 Autokratien kann kein klarer positiver Effekt des Grads der politischen Öffnung auf die Regimeunterstützung nachgewiesen werden, was eine begrenzte politische Öffnung als wenig effektive Legitimationsstrategie erscheinen lässt

Contribution of Microbe-Mediated Processes in Nitrogen Cycle to Attain Environmental Equilibrium

Nitrogen (N), the most important element, is required by all living organisms for the synthesis of complex organic molecules like amino acids, proteins, lipids etc. Nitrogen cycle is considered to be the most complex yet arguably important cycle next to carbon cycle. Nitrogen cycle includes oxic and anoxic reactions like organic N mineralization, ammonia assimilation, nitrification denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), comammox, codenitrification etc. Nitrogen cycling is one of the most crucial processes required for the recycling of essential chemical requirements on the planet. Soil microorganisms not only improve N-cycle balance but also pave the way for sustainable agricultural practices, leading to improved soil properties and crop productivity as most plants are opportunistic in the uptake of soluble or available forms of N from soil. Microbial N transformations are influenced by plants to improve their nutrition and vice versa. Diverse microorganisms, versatile metabolic activities, and varied biotic and abiotic conditions may result in the shift in the equilibrium state of different N-cycling processes. This chapter is an overview of the mechanisms and genes involved in the diverse microorganisms associated in the operation of nitrogen cycle and the roles of such microorganisms in different agroecosystems