Perceived Accuracy of Fake News on Social Media

Abstract

In the pandemic situation, it's hard to differentiate whether online news is true or not. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived accuracy of fake news which is influenced by analytical thinking, overclaiming, emotions (positive affection and negative affection), extremism, age and gender. Research was conducted in Jakarta metropolitan area. The number of samples was 257 students, aged 17–24 years, and active in using social media. We used convenience sampling technique. We used a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) technique to validate our instruments. Data analysis used multiple linear regression techniques. The results of this study indicate that the independent variables have a significant effect and contribute 13.2% to the dependent variable. From seven independent variables tested, there were four variables that had a significant effect on perceived accuracy of fake news, which are analytical thinking, positive affection, negative affection, and age. Our results suggest that analytical thinking and emotion has important role in perceived accuracy fake news. Therefore, people need to manage their emotions and analytical thinking skills. The information obtained must be digested in its entirety, not too quick to judge, not controlled by emotions, and make sure the information is correct before spreading it.