Message sharing and verification behaviour on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: a study in the context of India and the USA

Abstract

PurposeTechnology has eased access to information. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ease of access and transmission of information via social media has led to ambiguity, misinformation and uncertainty. This research studies the aforementioned behaviours of information sharing and verification related to COVID-19, in the context of social media.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies have been carried out. Study 1, with Indian social media users, is a two-factor between-subjects experimental design that investigated the effect of message polarity (positive versus negative) and message type (news versus rumour) on the dissemination and verification behaviour of COVID-19-related messages. The study also investigated the mediation of perceived message importance and health anxiety. Study 2 is a replica study conducted with US users.FindingsThe study finding revealed significantly higher message sharing for news than rumour. Further, for the Indian users, message with positive polarity led to higher message sharing and message with negative polarity led to higher verification behaviour. On the contrary, for the US users, message with negative polarity led to higher message sharing and message with positive polarity led to higher verification behaviour. Finally, the study revealed message importance mediates the relationship of message type and message sharing behaviour for Indian and US users; however, health anxiety mediation was significant only for Indian users.Practical implicationsThe findings offer important implications related to information regulation during a health crisis. Unverified information sharing is harmful during a pandemic. The study sheds light on this behaviour such that stakeholders get insights and better manage the information being disseminated.Originality/valueThe study investigates the behaviour of sharing and verification of social media messages between users containing health information (news and rumour) related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-07-2020-0282

Perceived Information Overload and Unverified Information Sharing on WeChat Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model of Anxiety and Perceived Herd

“…On the other hand, the mediation effect showed that anxiety triggered unverified information sharing. Compared with previous research that identified anxiety as a predictor of information sharing (Thelwall and Thelwall, 2020;Yin et al, 2020;Sharma and Kapoor, 2021), our findings demonstrated that anxiety also predicted unverified information sharing. Moreover, the findings also supported that unverified information sharing functioned as a coping strategy for individuals to deal with emotional distress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984) during the pandemic.…”

“…To manage anxiety and reduce emotional distress, people share information with their family, friends, co-workers, and community members to feel connected to close others (Chen et al, 2021;Lim et al, 2021). The positive association between anxiety and information sharing on social media has been empirically supported in previous research (Thelwall and Thelwall, 2020;Yin et al, 2020;Sharma and Kapoor, 2021). Because individuals in an anxious state are likely to make careless decisions during public health emergencies (Moghanibashi-Mansourieh, 2020), their information-sharing behaviors are often characterized by a lack of verification.…”

Sharing or Not: Psychological Motivations of Brand Rumors Spread and the Stop Solutions

“…Contrary to the idea that original rumors spread face-to-face, the number, spread speed, and scope of influence of online rumors are constantly expanding in the internet age due to the rapid advancement in internet technology and the continuous growth of social media users ( Bloch et al, 2017 ). However, the ease with which information may be accessed and transmitted through social media has resulted in ambiguity, misinformation, and doubt ( Sharma and Kapoor, 2022 ). Moreover, internet rumors are anonymous, interactive, and free of charge; this reduces the spread of psychological and material costs and promotes the spread of rumors ( Difonzo, 2013 ).…”

The application of emotions, sharing motivations, and psychological distance in examining the intention to share COVID-19-related fake news

“…Increasingly, researchers are highlighting issues related to the sharing of fake news—including that pertaining to COVID-19—on social media (Apuke and Omar, 2021a; Barakat et al. , 2021; Sharma and Kapoor, 2022; Talwar et al. , 2019).…”