I believe the variable of lies and misinformation thriving in virality is based on the idea that negativity is more engaging and intriguing than positivity. When something stimulates a negative feeling such as fear or anxiety, people engage because they feel insecure whether it be relative to the condition of their environment or internal self-perception. For example, if you read something negative about the President, you care because you live in the United States and relate it to your own well-being. Further, if someone read negative articles about a person they envy, they may feel inclined to engage & share it because that person's success made them feel inferior. Unfortunately, negativity sells.

Caulfield, T. (2021, October 18). The Golden Age of Junk Science Is Killing Us. Men’s Health. https://www.menshealth.com/health/a37910261/how-junk-science-and-misinformation-hurt-us/

World Health Organization (WHO). (2020, November 23). Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/un2spGWT2a [Tweet]. @WHO. https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1330905359175671808

Deepti Gurdasani. (2021, February 27). The campaign against @DrZoeHyde that has involved several scientists targeting her with personal attacks, and trying to misrepresent her is deeply disappointing. She has been referred to as ‘evil’, ‘idiotic’, ‘sadistic’, and a’sociopath’. A few thoughts on these attacks. [Tweet]. @dgurdasani1. https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1365641557404229638

Harp, N., Dodd, M. D., & Neta, M. (2020). Emotional working memory load selectively increases negativity bias [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/jnesc