FAKE NEWS IN SINGAPORE: EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED SOURCE CREDIBILITY ON INTENTION TO SHARE NEWS AND JUDGING NEWS ACCURACY IN MODERATED-MEDIATED PATHWAYS INVOLVING BELIEVABILITY, PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT AND MEDIA LITERACY

Abstract

The rapid spread of fake news is a hot-button issue across the globe, leading to unhappiness and unnecessary scares amongst individuals, and graver consequences such as weakening of social fabric, political tensions and knowledge ambiguity in the long run. Therefore, it is crucial to examine influences on intention to share news in order to curb its propagation. Source credibility is a key heuristic cue used to evaluate information and it can affect how consumers perceive news. This study leverages on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) to examine perceived source credibility (PSC) and its relationships with intention to share news as well as judging of news accuracy. A four-group post-test online experiment was conducted among 253 undergraduates. Findings revealed that PSC has a positive effect on believability and intention to share news; believability is a mediator in relationship between PSC and intention to share news. Furthermore, results also indicated personal involvement as a moderator between PSC and believability, with an inverse relationship between believability with personal involvement. Media literacy is found to have a significant effect on Judging News Accuracy (JNA) as a standalone variable but does not have a moderating effect in the presence of PSC. There is a high level of believability across all four groups, revealing that participants are have low JNA and are largely unable to identify news with fake element(s). This study provides fresh insights into the effects of PSC on accuracy and more importantly, intention to share news, by comparing the four groups with varying types and degrees of manipulation. Findings highlight the need to treat the issue of fake news seriously. Methods of tackling fake news are proposed based on the study’s findings.