Fake News is Shared by “Them” Not “Us” On Social Media: Perceptual Gaps of Fake News Sharing and Affective Polarization

Drawing on a two-wave survey conducted in Taiwan, this study examines the perceptual gaps of fake news sharing between pro-attitudinal and counter-attitudinal communicators, including both ordinary netizens and social media influencers. The findings indicate that social media news consumption increases exposure to political disagreement, which, in turn, widens the perceptual gaps of fake news sharing. In addition, the perceptual gaps concerning social media influencers are significantly associated with affective polarization. By extending the relative hostile media perception framework, this study elucidates a key mechanism through which the politicization of the “fake news” label on social media influences political polarization and democratic challenges.