Tags:Facebook, information credibility, medium credibility, medium transparency, Persuasion Theory, Political Marketing and Social Media
Abstract:
Social media is a powerful tool for influencing voters’ opinions about politics, political candidates, and social issues. There is a great amount of concern that information presented on social media is not genuine or from reliable sources. The level of credibility given to information online may be a function of the source, medium, message, or expertise of the receiver. This research builds on research by Li and Suh (2015) which draws upon persuasion theory and is adapted to the U.S. Presidential election. The primary goal of this research is to determine to what extent voters consider information presented on Facebook about Presidential Candidates is credible based on elements of medium credibility (e.g., medium dependency, interactivity, media transparency) and message credibility (e.g., argument strength, information quality, personal expertise). A secondary goal of this research is to ascertain which specific sources of information (e.g., friends, family, various news outlets, etc.) that post information on Facebook about Presidential Candidates are considered most trustworthy. Results of this research will provide researchers and practitioners with insight into the general credibility of Facebook as a source of information about Presidential Candidates and specifically which sources are considered most trustworthy.