In Brief: People Often Repost News on Facebook Without Reading It First

Approximately 75% of the news links shared on Facebook are reposted without people reading the linked content before they share it, recent research finds. 

Communications researchers at the University of Florida found that politically extreme content received significantly more “shares without clicks” than moderate content, with partisan users inclined to share unread material that supports their existing beliefs.

Researchers analyzed more than 42 billion instances of people sharing content without first clicking the link to see the story. Shares without clicks accounted for more than three-quarters of all sharing activity on Facebook, regardless of the users’ political affiliations, the study found.

“The virality of political content on social media appears to be driven by superficial processing of headlines and blurbs rather than systematic processing of the core content,” the study’s authors wrote. Facebook could encourage users to read articles before sharing them (something that X is already doing), the researchers suggest. 

More People Feel Aggrieved Toward Those in Power, Edelman Reveals

The public’s economic fears have fueled widespread resentment, with 60% of respondents indicating they feel moderate to high levels of grievance. According to Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer, this pervasive grievance stems from the belief that government and business harm most people while serving narrow interests and the wealthy. 

Respondents report feeling a lack of hope for the next generation and mistrust between economic classes. Low-income respondents (48%) trust institutions 13 points less than high-income respondents (61%), the study finds.

Around the world, people express an unprecedented lack of faith in institutional leaders. Among survey respondents, an average of 69% worry that government officials, business leaders and journalists deliberately mislead them, up 11 points since 2021. 

Four in 10 respondents — and 53% of those ages 18 to 34 — approve of hostile activism to force change, which includes attacking people online, intentionally spreading disinformation, threatening or committing violence, and damaging public or private property, Edelman’s report finds. 

Study: Vacations Boost Employee Well-Being

Vacations might benefit employee well-being and morale more than previously thought, a review article from the University of Georgia says. Researchers based their conclusions on a meta-analysis they performed of 32 studies from nine countries.

As job pressures rise, “people think that they can’t take time off because they don’t want to look bad or lose out on an opportunity for promotion,” said Ryan Grant, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in psychology at the university. “We need to break up these intense periods of work with intense periods of rest and recuperation.”

Employees who psychologically disengaged from work while on vacation saw the biggest improvements in their well-being, the researchers said. The analysis also found that people who took part in physical activities while on vacation received physiological and mental health benefits and felt more restored.

Planning a vacation in advance — and taking a day or two at home before returning to work — further reduce stress, the researchers found.

Why Manager Communication Elevates Hybrid Work 

Consistent communication from managers can help mitigate the lower employee engagement that remote work sometimes causes, a recent study from the University of Missouri finds.

“Managers play a crucial role in making flexible work successful, and organizations should train managers on how to effectively communicate with their remote and hybrid workers,” said Justin F. Willett, program director at the university’s Novak Leadership Institute and the study’s lead author.

Managers should understand and support employee needs for flexibility in when and where they work, he said. Willett advises managers to set clear expectations with employees about performance and communication, seek and share feedback, and update staff on any new flexible-work policies.

In surveys, employees who described themselves as the happiest and most engaged at work said their managers demonstrated high-quality communication practices. Managers who interacted with remote employees helped prevent them from feeling disconnected or unsupported, resulting from working in different places or at different times than supervisors and coworkers.  — Greg Beaubien