My friend sent it, I fell for it: investigating misinformation and sender credibility

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how perceptions of a source's credibility influence individuals' willingness to share misinformation in digital communication contexts, particularly within private messaging environments. It aims to clarify why ordinary users, rather than malicious actors, often contribute to the spread of false content. Design/methodology/approach – Across three controlled experiments (total n = 914), we manipulated source credibility and measured participants' intentions to share false information. Mediation and moderation analyses assessed the roles of perceived message truthfulness and perceived social relevance to others. Findings – Results show that higher perceived source credibility increases the intention to share misinformation by enhancing perceived message truthfulness. Furthermore, the effect is stronger when messages are perceived as socially relevant, suggesting that individuals are more likely to share misinformation when it feels meaningful to their social circles. Research limitations/implications – Although the studies rely on experimental manipulations rather than field data, they offer strong internal validity and open new avenues for investigating interpersonal credibility in closed digital networks. Practical implications – Findings can inform interventions aimed at reducing misinformation sharing by addressing perceived trustworthiness and emphasizing message verification within social contexts. Originality/value – This research contributes to the misinformation literature by experimentally testing interpersonal source credibility, mirroring real-world digital interactions. It introduces social relevance for others as a novel motivational factor beyond self-relevance, and it integrates perceptual, cognitive and social mechanisms into a unified explanatory framework. Peer review – The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-11-2025-0900