Eco-Activist Social Media Influencers (SMI) on Twitter: Does Credibility Matter?

Abstract

The emergence of social media specially twitter plays a significant role in today’s era. The bond between people and their smartphones is also inseparable. The first thing that people would do when they wake up is to check their phones. This leads to the deprivation of people watching television. People have now turn to Twitter for any news or trends that are occurring and substitute the physical newspaper. With the vast number of users on social media, Social Media Influencers (SMI) have also been influencing others by their opinions or expertise. However, with all the technologies and changing that are going on, environment still suffers from these man-made developments. Therefore, this paper seeks to understand how the eco-activist SMI create awareness on environment on Twitter. Using Social Credibility Theory, a qualitative content analysis of eco activist SMI twitter accounts was conducted. The findings indicate that trustworthiness, expertise and active online presence are salient features of an eco-activist SMI when communicating environmental messages through twitter.