A Multi-Mechanism Socio-Technical Theory of Wellness Misinformation

Aesthetic, Affective, and Algorithmic Dynamics

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19227945
AutoresHedi Ye (0009-0008-9023-9686, Wenzhou Medical University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2026
Volumen12
Número2
Fecha de publicación2026-04-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Media + Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2056-3051 • E-ISSN: 2056-3051
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/20563051261452130
OpenAlexW7162311698
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas47

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

Construct (python library) · Credibility · Dynamics (music) · Misinformation · Perception · Psychological intervention · Relevance (law) · Scholarship · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Social Media and Politics