Abstract
This study reports an exploratory inquiry into the problematic phenomenon of fake news on Facebook, aiming at providing an inside view on how users in the United Kingdom (UK) value the credibility of news posts on Facebook in a post-Brexit era. Participants (n = 201) were asked to review four different Brexit-related Facebook posts that linked to news articles from UK tabloids that were published between 2016 and 2019. Two of the posts were debunked as fake news, while the other two were verified as real news. The authors of each Facebook post were different: two from UK tabloids and two from unknown individuals. Respondents were asked to identify the credibility of the news posts in Facebook’s news feed. The results indicate that the author of the post significantly influences users’ perceived credibility. For instance, a fake news post from an individual is perceived as the least trustworthy, while a real news post from an individual and a fake news post from a tabloid are somewhat similarly perceived. The content of a post is seen as most trustworthy when it is a real news post from a tabloid and as least credible when it is a fake news post from an individual. Finally, in two cases, credibility can predict willingness to interact with a post. The research concludes with a set of recommendations for future research.
Highlights
While this democratization of mass communication is a positive development, leading to, for example, today 86% of Americans currently using the Internet and 79% having logged on to Facebook—the most popular social networks system (SNS) (Greenwood et al 2016)
It is concluded that only in two cases does credibility predict willingness to interact with a post—for a real news post shared by an individual and a real news post shared by a tabloid
It was found that perceived credibility can predict willingness to interact with a post
Summary
While this democratization of mass communication is a positive development, leading to, for example, today 86% of Americans currently using the Internet and 79% having logged on to Facebook—the most popular social networks system (SNS) (Greenwood et al 2016). Levitin (2017) describes the post-truth era as a phenomenon that blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction—especially on SNS. According to Waisbord (2018), the term “fake news” fundamentally refers to fabricated information that astutely mimics news, and it is used to misinform deliberately. Social network sites such as Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TW) are referred as perpetrators of the proliferation and consumption of such false information. They are the reason for the spread and consumption of fake news, both intentionally and unintentionally nowadays. The term post-truth defines a condition of public communication, for demanding a more curatorial role in the future, and to be more accountable for their social responsibilities as a critical source of information for many (Levitin 2017)
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