Navigating narratives: the dynamics of disinformation exposure and believability to information in Kosovo.

Abstract

This paper examines individuals’ exposure to disinformation in Kosovo and how they judge its credibility. We investigated exposure to and belief in six of the most popular disinfor-mation narratives through a survey of 600 respondents. The results show that trust in news media does not significantly influence disinformation belief, suggesting that cognitive and situational factors are more impactful. Although social media remains the main source of exposure, the source typically does not affect belief unless there are some high-salience political stories. Additionally, repeated exposure to a narrative increases the chance that it will be believed. Fact-checking and media literacy efforts have limited reach, as most respondents rarely verify information that aligns with their views. These findings highlight the need to improve media literacy and critical thinking education to help individuals become more discerning in how they evaluate information