Abstract
Abstract In the last decade, the new means of communication have determined substantial changes in human behavior and in the way individuals interact with each other. Besides the numerous benefits and opportunities that have arisen throughout the digitalization process, both for individuals as well as for private companies and state institutions, the widespread use of the Internet has generated vulnerabilities and threats. One of the most consistent concerns related to the new means of communication, especially social media platforms, refers to fake news. In recent years, major events including the 2016 presidential election in the US, Brexit, and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic have proven the negative effects of fake news on society. In this paper, we use an eye-tracking experiment to determine the unconscious reactions of consumers regarding the attraction potential of a fake news manner written article about a celebrity couple. The results of the experiment for this magazine’s article, with a fake title about the celebrity couple, show that the participants focus their attention on celebrities and fake titles mostly. The picture of the celebrities and the fake title of the article beats the other areas from the article and less on the information in the text. The research proves empirically that consumers are more attentive to celebrity pictures and fake breaking news titles and less to real information in the article. To sum up, testimonials and fake news play an important role in attracting publicity and influencing consumer behavior.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic represents the most difficult challenge of the century and has generated instability, insecurity and over three million human deaths worldwide (Worldometer, April 2021)
The fastest first view has been generated by the source of the article (AOI 003)
As we can observe in this magazine article, the participants spent most of their time, watching the fake news title (AOI 004). This area was the most attractive for them and they were thinking if it is true or not. This was followed by the article itself (AOI 005), which means that some of the participants have read the article
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic represents the most difficult challenge of the century and has generated instability, insecurity and over three million human deaths worldwide (Worldometer, April 2021). Studies show that alongside false information that is disseminated online, there are other negative digital tools like bots, clickbait titles, fake reviews, deep fakes, or phishing which are being used to manipulate online users and, in most cases, illicitly generate financial gains (Tantau et al, 2018). These instruments are being used to damage the reputation of competitors, manipulate markets or discredit public figures or institutions. These risks have attracted the attention of scholars, public institutions, companies, and multinational
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