A Multi-Mechanism Socio-Technical Theory of Wellness Misinformation: Aesthetic, Affective, and Algorithmic Dynamics

Wellness misinformation spreads widely on short-form video platforms, yet existing research often explains its credibility through individual cognitive deficits. This study advances a qualitative socio-technical account by articulating and applying the Algorithmic–Affective Misinformation Model (AAMM)—a mid-range framework refined through abductive analysis—to explain how credibility emerges through the interaction of aesthetics, affect, and algorithms. Drawing on qualitative interviews and cross-platform observations on TikTok and RED, the study identifies three mechanisms—aesthetic legitimization, affective vulnerability, and algorithmic reinforcement—that collectively construct wellness misinformation as visually authoritative, emotionally resonant, and structurally normalized. By demonstrating the cross-cultural relevance of these mechanisms, the study addresses the underrepresentation of Asian platforms in misinformation scholarship and offers a globally applicable explanation of how wellness misinformation circulates across divergent platform ecologies. The findings highlight the need for interventions that target visual, emotional, and algorithmic infrastructures, expanding theoretical, methodological, and policy approaches to the study of digital misinformation.