EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SOURCES ON INFORMATION CORRECTION IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

The prevalence of misinformation on social media has forced organisations to carefully revamp their protocols in managing the threat of false information to their reputation. On Facebook, fact-check mechanisms have been implemented to combat the spread of misleading information to preserve the quality of user experience and platform credibility. Guided by the concepts of heuristics and user-generated content (UGC), this study investigated the source effects of fact-checkers and mainstream news media on the effectiveness of corrective information in reducing users’ perceived believability of misinformation. A 3 (fact-checker) x 2 (presence or absence of mainstream media citation as source) online factorial experimental design was conducted with 312 participants. Findings showed that the source effects of the fact-checker did not have a significant effect on the correction of misinformation, and that its source effect was not moderated by the perceived source credibility. Additionally, the source effect of citing mainstream media in corrective information had significant effect on reducing the believability of misinformation. This study also discussed theoretical and practical implications, as well as its limitations and recommendations for future research.