Emotional Regulation and Institutional Maintenance: Debunking Fake News with Emotions

Abstract

How to fight fake news? Through the study of the social entrepreneur Laura Brennan, in the case of the HPV vaccination in Ireland from 2015-19 we show the importance emotional work in social media to fight fake news. We propose a model of emotional regulation in which social entrepreneurs use mirroring, distancing and enactment strategies to maintain institutional frames and debunk fake news. We claim about the importance of the transformation of negative emotions in positive emotional energy through identification and about the embodiment of the truth in creating a legitimizing frame. By that, we contribute to the understanding social entrepreneurship and emotion work and the embodiment of emotions in fighting against fake news in social media.