Pregnant women’s susceptibility to future generations’ health and willingness to share fake news about climate change: A moderated mediation model

The wide spread of fake news about climate change has serious ramifications for the health of our future generations. Moreover, the pregnant women’s susceptibility to future generations’ health may further worsen the problem by sharing fake news about climate change. However, the antecedents and mechanism of pregnant women’s willingness to share fake news about climate change are unknown. To fill this gap, we employ a national cross-sectional survey to investigate the dark side of pregnant women’s susceptibility to future generations’ health. We expect that the association between pregnancy and willingness to share fake news about climate change is mediated through susceptibility to future generations’ health. Additionally, among those with higher levels of pseudo-profound bullshit receptivity, the positive indirect effect of pregnancy on susceptibility to future generations’ health is stronger. Furthermore, among those with lower levels of media truth discernment, the positive indirect effect of pregnancy on the willingness to share fake news on climate change is stronger. Our research is of great significance to understand the dark side of excessive concern about the health of future generations and sheds light on how to govern the spread of fake news about climate change.