Social media interventions deter bots but fail to curb human misinformation spread

A new study published in the European Journal of Information Systems (2026) by researchers Amir Karami, Nima Kordzadeh, and Serena Harn investigates how social media interventions impact the spread of health misinformation by both bots and humans. Drawing on deterrence theory, the team analyzed the sustained effectiveness of three common platform tactics—removal, reduction, and informing interventions—implemented to dissuade users from sharing false health claims. Their results reveal a stark asymmetric effect: most interventions produce lasting deterrence on bot activity, suppressing misinformation dissemination for years after implementation. Bots, which often operate programmatically, appear responsive to these mechanisms.

However, the findings for human users are far less encouraging. The study found that the same interventions do not produce significant deterrence effects on humans and their sharing behaviors. This suggests that current platform strategies—designed to block content or warn users—fail to address the psychological and social drivers that lead people to amplify misinformation. The authors argue that platforms must develop creative, human-centric strategies that go beyond technical measures, such as leveraging social norms, personalized debiasing, or community-driven fact-checking. The research underscores the critical need to study both bots and humans separately when designing content moderation policies, as one-size-fits-all approaches may leave the most persistent source of misinformation—human behavior—largely unchecked.