University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Telecommunication Professor Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, Paul Mena, Ph.D. 2019 and Danielle Barbe are the co-authors of Misinformation on Instagram: The Impact of Trusted Endorsement on Message Credibility” published in Social Media + Society on June 24.

In the article, the authors explore how social validation, measured through trusted endorsement and bandwagon heuristics, influence the credibility of misinformation on Instagram.

They found that trusted endorsements significantly impacted the credibility of misleading content on Instagram and perceived message credibility was greater when a fabricated post was endorsed by a trustworthy personality. Their findings provide insights into how message credibility is evaluated on a social media platform like Instagram in the context of misinformation.

According to the authors, “This study suggests that the trustworthiness of a personality that endorses an Instagram post might operate as a heuristic credibility cue, no matter if the post shows misleading information.”

Posted: June 25, 2020
Category: Alumni News, College News, Trust News
Tagged as: Paul Mena, Sylvia Chan-Olmsted