Anger makes fake news viral online

Fake news that manipulates political elections, strikes financial systems and even incites riots is more viral than real news online, resulting in unstable societies and buffeted democracy. The easier contagion of fake news online can be causally explained by the greater anger it carries. Offline questionnaires reveal that anger leads to more incentivized audiences in terms of anxiety management and information sharing and accordingly makes fake news more contagious than real news online. Our results suggest that the digital contagion of emotions, in particular anger, should be comprehensively considered in profiling the spread of online information. Cures such as tagging anger in social media could be implemented to slow or prevent the contagion of fake news at the source.