Research on social media reliability

Abstract

The current article analyses social media reliability. The conducted research focused on people's beliefs about the information reliability of social networks/social media. In order to find out why the respondents claim to be able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information, they were asked to state their motives. To sum up, it turned out that it is possible to group arguments into certain categories that determine the recognition of reliable and unreliable information. The arguments of those who claim to be able to recognize reliable information: emphasize self-analysis; use of common sense; enabling critical thinking; trust their abilities; believe in intuition. The arguments of those who cannot recognize reliable information: that it is impossible to understand the reliability of information; they admitted that the information may be biased; they missed the consistency of the research process, they simply do not trust themselves. The majority of respondents do not share news articles on their personal social media. The data of the conducted research revealed the differences in opinion when choosing both social media channels and the means of information dissemination, the possibilities of separating the truth and uncertainty of information, and the further use of such information with the label of reliable or unreliable information. The conducted research will allow an overview of the spread and impact of real and fake information on social networks. The information obtained in this research will be useful for individuals who want to build online businesses, and will also provide advice to social media managers on how to create platforms that contain reliable information and generally reduce the harm of misinformation itself.