This study investigated how emotional media information affects information processing in the post-truth era. A cognitive conflict monitoring and evaluation (CCME) model was proposed, exploring news audiences' attention and implicit attitudes using a 2 (information type) × 2 (condition) × 3 (electrode position) design with an implicit association test (IAT) and event-related potential (ERP) data. Results showed that emotional information alters arousal and attention allocation during early conflict monitoring, leading to reduced late-stage evaluation due to depleted attentional resources. Emotional information in media may exhaust attentional resources on irrelevant cues, causing early cognitive conflict and hindering thorough evaluation of news articles.

Ya Yang, Lichao Xiu, Xuejiao Chen, Guoming Yu