The present research addresses the issue of source credibility of social media influencers from the perspective of users. Social media influencers are defined as online personalities with a large number of followers, across one or several social media platforms. They have a complex role, being content creators, online opinion leaders, and even entrepreneurs. Influencer marketing is becoming a more and more relevant component of current advertising campaigns worldwide. A consistent body of literature has underlined the importance of source credibility for the effectiveness of advertising. Recent researches on Source Credibility Theory (Teng et al, 2014; Djafarova & Rushworth, 2016; Munnukka et al 2016; Lou &Yuan, 2018) have stressed the influence of trustworthiness, expertise, similarity and attractiveness as elements of source credibility on perceived trust in influencer marketing. In order to gain better insights, we chose to conduct qualitative research that can allow us an in-depth perspective on the phenomenon of source credibility in influencer marketing. We carried out four group discussions in Germany and five in Romania. We explored the differences and similarities regarding the users’ perception of the perceived credibility of social media influencers.

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Social media is associated with the rise of new types of celebrities called influencers, who share their current experiences and ideas and often endorse brands. Developing and keeping a large community of followers is one of the most important goals of influencers. The size of their audiences is one of the elements that make them relevant to the advertising industry. The main objective of the present research is to explore the mechanism that determines users’ online behavior related to influencers, such as following them on social media. Moreover, the study examined the role of the perceived information quality and of the perceived trust of the influencers in shaping audiences’ attitudes toward influencers. The moderating role of the frequency of Instagram and YouTube use on the relationship between perceived information quality and trustworthiness was explored by conducting an online survey (N=1088). The main takeaway from the study is that influencers who want to grow their audiences have to create perceived quality content. This can contribute to both positive attitudes and the development of trust. Also, the frequency of Instagram use has a small moderating role, while the frequency of YouTube use has no effects on the trustworthiness of the influencers.

At the beginning of the novel coronavirus another phenomenon was observed: the dissemination of false information on a large scale. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the coronavirus pandemic is not the only threat that the world is facing, but there is also an infodemic that needs to be controlled. For example, false articles claiming that SARS-CoV-2 was man-made or that the EU is going to be eradicated are invading the health sector. This pilot study aims to analyze several COVID-19 related fake news disseminated in Romania that was identified as fake by traditional media outlets. A content analysis of N=22 COVID-19 related fake news was conducted using a coding scheme adapted from Keselman et.al. (2019). The articles were written in a colloquial language, and the majority of them included criticism towards the government and their measures against the pandemic. Some of the distinguished features of fake

It is rather contradictory that there is a high demand for authenticity in today’s virtual space, where some platforms encourage the proliferation of idealized images, the products of digital alteration. Previous studies have examined how social media users perceive the authenticity and credibility of new digital celebrities—influencers—and the impacts on advertising outcomes. Authenticity in media communication has been defined in many ways, but most definitions include factors such as sincerity, trustworthiness, accuracy, originality, and spontaneity. Prior research on authenticity in computer-mediated communication emphasized the importance of three levels of authenticity, that of the source, of the message, and of the interaction. How social media influencers (SMIs) perceive their own authenticity is an understudied topic. SMIs are simultaneously perceived by their audiences as celebrities, experts, and consumers. Expanding their audiences is one of their goals. Being authentic at the beginning of one’s SMI career as a content creator might be simple, but it becomes much more challenging after one’s audience has grown significantly. Sponsorship can pose a challenge to an SMI’s authenticity. The present study aims to explore the role that authenticity plays for SMIs and develop a theoretical framework for understanding the self-perceived authenticity of SMIs. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with SMIs that have both national and international audiences (<em>N = </em>20). Sincerity, expertise, uniqueness, commitment to values, mediated realness, visibility, communication style, spontaneity, transparent and creative brand endorsement, commitment to followers, and frequency of interaction are the components of the proposed model.