The psychology of manipulative visibility in the digital public sphere: a discourse analysis of audience reactions to deceptive Instagram content.

Introduction: The digital public sphere has become a primary site for social learning and belief formation, yet the psychological mechanisms through which manipulative content gains social acceptance remain underexplored from an educational psychology perspective. This study examines how visibility mechanisms on social media may function as informal learning environments that replace rational evaluation with heuristic processing and promote emotional, spectacle-driven participation. Drawing on theories of critical thinking development and sociocognitive learning, the study investigates how exposure to deceptive digital content shapes learners' epistemic beliefs and evaluative standards. Analyzing a viral Instagram Reel by Turkish Show TV from 2021, titled "Virtual World, Fake World," where a middle-aged man used FaceApp to appear as a young female motorcyclist, this research explores how deceptive content is created, spread, and normalized. The case is compared with international coverage from Vice, NDTV, and The Washington Post. Methods: The study employs an abductive approach in which empirical patterns are identified through inductive coding and interpreted in light of media psychology and educational theory, including Habermas's analysis of the transformation of the public sphere. A total of 581 user comments were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify rhetorical strategies, emotional framing, and ideological interpretations. The analytical framework integrates perspectives on media literacy, critical thinking dispositions, and the role of affect in information processing to examine how audiences construct meaning from deceptive content. Results: The analysis reveals three recurring patterns in audience interpretations: (1) authenticity is reframed as entertainment rather than truth, suggesting a shift in evaluative criteria among digital learners; (2) humor reduces ethical concerns and normalizes deception, indicating that emotional engagement may override moral reasoning and critical evaluation; and (3) user participation is driven by visibility and emotion rather than deliberative debate, reflecting platform-conditioned learning behaviors that prioritize engagement over accuracy. These patterns suggest that algorithmic visibility and platform affordances shape the cognitive and affective dimensions of public communication, fostering participatory norms that may undermine the development of critical media literacy competencies. Discussion: The study contributes to media psychology and digital communication research by illustrating how deceptive content can become socially acceptable through visibility-based interaction. From an educational psychology standpoint, the findings underscore the need for pedagogical interventions that strengthen critical thinking skills, epistemic vigilance, and media literacy-particularly in informal learning contexts where platform algorithms serve as implicit curators of knowledge. As a single-case study selected for analytical richness rather than statistical representativeness, the findings are not intended to be generalized across all platforms or cultural contexts. Nevertheless, the study highlights the tension between ideal public-sphere values and platform-driven communication, emphasizing the need for enhanced media literacy education, scaffolded critical evaluation training, and platform regulations to mitigate the psychological impacts of manipulative digital narratives.