Fake News and the Willingness to Share: The Role of Confirmatory Bias and Previous Brand Transgressions: An Abstract

Abstract

In today’s technological environment, the consumption of information online is the norm. Further, consumers are oftentimes acquiring news from social media sites rather than directly from trusted news sources. According to a 2017 study by the Pew Research Center, two thirds of Americans (67%) report getting at least some of their news through social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (Shearer and Gottfried 2017). In a time when non-verified information is readily available, shared, and promoted, the need for editorial oversight and consumer judgment is greater than ever. The marketing industry is at a moral crossroads. At a time when research shows that 75% of American adults who were familiar with a fake news headline viewed the story as accurate (Silverman and Singer-Vine 2016), consumers are more likely than ever to pass along “news” that is inaccurate or even harmful. Additionally, brands are at risk. Google and Facebook are under increasing pressure to take aim at the perpetrators. The American electorate is at the epicenter of fake news, with many reports suggesting the 2016 election fell pray to online fake news sources perpetrating attacks on various political entities. And popular brands have fallen victim to fake news stories impacting revenue and customer equity. Rumors are not new. We adapt the definition of fake news based on Berthon and Pitt (2018): “fake news can take the form of fake stories, fake pictures, fake reviews, and fake polls” (page 1). In addition to the growth of fake news via increased online media, the social media generation has less media literacy than previous generations. Additionally, the internet as a media vehicle has less editorial oversight and a vast potential for virility. These developments have led us to the following research question: given such limited editorial oversight, what is it that leads consumers to believe and share, or alternatively, believe yet not share, fake news stories? We aim to address this question through the lens of the confirmatory bias theoretical perspective.