Generation Z (Gen Z) is regarded as the first cohort of digital natives, yet large-scale research identifies them as the most susceptible age group to online misinformation. This susceptibility has been linked to outcomes as severe as radicalization, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Furthermore, existing work has largely overlooked how Gen Z navigates misinformation in their own words. To address these gaps, this study utilized a mixed-methods design. The quantitative component drew on the Roberts-Ingleson and McCann (2023) framework, which proposes that four vulnerability factors linked to radicalization (self-uncertainty, cognitive inflexibility, perceived discrimination, and social exclusion) also predict misinformation susceptibility, which in turn, predicts radicalization. Hierarchical multiple regression (N = 253; ages 18–26) was used to test whether these vulnerability factors alongside digital literacy predicted misinformation susceptibility (as operationalized by veracity discernment on the Misinformation Susceptibility Test-20) and whether susceptibility was associated with radical action intentions. The vulnerability factors did not predict misinformation susceptibility, whereas digital literacy, particularly knowledge of algorithmic curation, did. Susceptibility was not associated with radical action intentions; however, the vulnerability factors predicted radical action intentions directly, with perceived discrimination as the strongest predictor. Qualitative thematic analysis of open- ended survey responses (N = 253) and semi-structured interviews (n = 12) revealed that participants across discernment levels understood misinformation in sophisticated ways but applied this knowledge inconsistently, constrained by fatigue, overwhelm, trust deficits and other demands of navigating a polluted information environment. Verification, when it occurred, was frequently collective rather than individual. Participants from marginalized communities described distinct, identity-based harms that in some cases, did not appear to depend on whether the content was believed. Both the challenges and solutions participants identified pointed to the broader information ecosystem rather than individual skills alone. Taken together, findings of this study suggest that misinformation susceptibility is better understood as an ecological phenomenon, shaped by interactions between individual capacities and socio-technical environments, than as a stable individual trait. This reframing carries implications for how susceptibility is conceptualized, measured, and addressed in Gen Z.