“In Flow”! Why Do Users Share Fake News about Environmentally Friendly Brands on Social Media?

Abstract

Social media has triggered an increase in fake news spread about different aspects of modern lives, society, politics, societal changes, etc., and has also affected companies’ reputation and brands’ trust. Therefore, this paper is aimed at investigating why social media users share fake news about environmentally friendly brands. To examine social media users’ behavior towards environmentally friendly brands, a theoretical research model proposed and analyzed using structural equations modeling in SmartPLS on a convenience sample consisting of 922 questionnaires. Data was collected by means of a quantitative-based approach via a survey conducted among social media users from an emerging market. The results show that social media flow has a mediated impact on sharing fake news about environmentally friendly brands on social media. Considering the critical consequences of fake news, the paper argues that understanding the dissemination process of this type of bogus content on social media platforms has important theoretical and managerial implications. Understanding the psychological mechanisms that influence people’s behavior in sharing fake news about environmentally friendly brands on social networking sites (SNS) could help in better understanding the factors and the effects of this phenomenon. The originality of this research consists of proposing flow theory from positive psychology to be used as a theoretical framework to explain users’ behavior of sharing fake news about environmentally friendly brands on social media.

Can Fake News About Companies Lead to an Increased Social Media Usage? An Empirical Investigationnhancing the Attractiveness and Readability of Central Bank Reports: An Experiment

“…People may feel secure spreading any news they get from reputable sources, even if it appears to be fake being driven by its speed and popularity (Talwar et al, 2020), or not having time to double check its accuracy. Online trust predicts fake news sharing among social media users (Obadă and Dabija, 2022). Therefore, we posit the following hypothesis: H6: Online trust has a positive influence on sharing fake news about companies while browsing SNS.…”

“…In flow, hours pass in minutes, and minutes might expand to appear as hours. As a result of the optimal experience, social media users can engage in sharing information, including fake news about companies (Obadă, 2019;Obadă and Dabija, 2022). Therefore, it is reasonable to propose the following hypothesis: H5: Time distortion experienced by social media users has a positive influence on sharing fake news about companies while browsing SNS.…”

“…Optimal experience of SNS users can influence sharing fake news about brands (Obadă, 2019;Obadă and Dabija, 2022). Fake news is considered as one of humanity's greatest concerns, having negative effects on society and the economy (Gray et al, 2020).…”

“…Online trust of social media users has proven to be an important antecedent of sharing fake news on SNS (Obadă and Dabija, 2022). Trust included the willingness to believe someone based upon positive expectations from past behavior (Mayer et al, 1995).…”

Education and New Developments 2022 – Volume I

“…In accordance with (Obadă and Dabija 2022), the number of Internet users has grown significantly in recent years, with an estimated 4.62 billion active users of SNSs, which has generated the current information economy. To the extent that users of SNSs, the use of information shared in these media is used in different areas, generating great interest among researchers, due to the potential value of the information.…”