Credibility Dimensions for Islamic Information in Social Media

Abstract

A new way of spreading knowledge and collaborating with each other to achieve specific objectives has been introduced with the rise of social media, which is a useful communication tool. A growing number of people are using social media in search of information relating to religious learning and practices. The younger generation is one of the primary users of social media; therefore, many Islamic scholars are reaching out to Muslim youths using this channel. However, as people assimilate themselves to the use of social media in gaining knowledge, questions begin to emerge on the credibility of the Islamic information discovered. Anyone regardless of their background can post or share information or articles on social media, so much information is not always credible or true. Self-proclaimed Islamic scholars could use social media for their gains such as to support and propagate sentiments, misinform, spread rumors or startup conspiracies. This could confuse social media users, especially the younger generation, whose main information source is social media. Despite the significant importance of this area, limited research has empirically examined the factors that affect the credibility of social media information particularly relating to the Islamic context. In addressing this gap, this study inspects the factors obtained from the literature and classifies the dimensions of social media information credibility. Based on the established credibility theories of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), Prominence-Interpretation theory, and Social Cognitive theory, a research model is developed to determine Islamic information credibility on social media platforms. It is imperative that the study classify the credibility dimensions, in order to further validate the factors that influence social media users in confirming the credibility of Islamic information. This study also aims to clear doubts and dispel misinformation regarding the Islamic religion by providing a basis for the society to ascertain Islamic information credibility and authenticity.

Impact of information credibility on social media information adoption behavior: a systematic literature review

“…The results of the assessed studies conducted in diverse geographical locations revealed that there was a strong positive influence of the predictor (IC) variable over the outcome (IAB) variable, confirming that more credible information on social media leads to the frequent adoption of information. Additionally, if the social media users are motivated to assess IC cognitively, the effect on IAB results is even stronger (Kadir et al, 2018;Sundar, 2008). Now social media has penetrated not only our personal but also our professional life as well.…”

“…The believability of face-toface conversation usually depends upon situational indicators, such as known attributes of the communicator, including his occupation, fame, expertise, body language, etc., but in online situations, some physical identity-based cues are missing to assess conventionally (Fan and Lederman, 2017). Over the years, researchers have suggested various approaches in previous literature which support assessing the credibility of online information, such as models (Fogg et al, 2001;Fritch and Cromwell, 2001;Kadir et al, 2018;Pee, 2012;Petty and Cacioppo, l986;Metzger, 2007;Wathen and Burkell, 2002;Sundar, 2008), theories (Fogg, 2003;Pinem et al, 2019), cognitive heuristics (Metzger and Flanagin, 2013;Xiao et al, 2018), frameworks and checklists (Flanagin and Metzger, 2000;Hilligoss and Rieh, 2008;Knight and Burn, 2005).…”

“…Over the years, researchers have suggested various approaches in previous literature which support assessing the credibility of online information, such as models (Fogg et al. , 2001; Fritch and Cromwell, 2001; Kadir et al. , 2018; Pee, 2012; Petty and Cacioppo, l986; Metzger, 2007; Wathen and Burkell, 2002; Sundar, 2008), theories (Fogg, 2003; Pinem et al.…”

Analysing and Visualizing Tweets for U.S. President Popularity

“…Therefore, one of the significant tasks for web applications is to collect users' opinions from different sources to make this content available after the extraction process both for users and for social network applications, which can benefit from it for personalization and adaptation to user needs [28], [29]. Moreover, in this age of digital information overload, this content must be reliable for users and, hence, information sources must guarantee credibility [30]- [32] through the analysis of their context [33], semantic environment [34] and parameterized constrains [35]. A growing number of people are using social media for searching for information related to other sources.…”