“I Don’t Even Watch News (Voluntarily) on WeChat” – Socially-Compelled Exposure to Misinformation Among U.S. Diaspora Communities

Online news sharing and political talk occur increasingly within encrypted messaging apps (EMAs), but these spaces are understudied, especially in the U.S. Relying on a total of 61 semi-structured interviews, this article examines how EMAs are used among three diaspora communities in Texas—Chinese Americans, Indian Americans, and Mexican Americans. It also explores participants exposure to news and misinformation over these apps. We show that, while participants do not actively seek news on EMAs, they are nevertheless incidentally exposed to a plethora of political news, and as result, misinformation. Simultaneously, however, they described how they cannot leave the apps due to their social necessity for the community, although they are often frustrated by misinformation circulating in their chat groups. This results in what we conceptualize as “socially-compelled” exposure to misinformation on EMAs. Our analysis also shows that interpersonal dynamics in family, friend, and community-oriented groups, defined by close ties, discourage people from socially-oriented modes of correcting misinformation. This can ultimately result in self-censorship with regard to political conversations.