Determinants of debunking information sharing behaviour in social media users: perspective of persuasive cues
本研究基于说服视角，分析了论证充分性、情感极性和辟谣者身份对社交媒体用户分享辟谣信息的影响，并考察了谣言内容和目标的调节作用，对管理谣言和公共健康危机有参考价值。
Purpose Sharing and disseminating debunking information are critical to correcting rumours and controlling disease when dealing with public health crises. This study investigates the factors that influence social media users' debunking information sharing behaviour from the perspective of persuasion. The authors examined the effects of argument adequacy, emotional polarity, and debunker's identity on debunking information sharing behaviour and investigated the moderating effects of rumour content and target. Design/methodology/approach The model was tested using 150 COVID-19-related rumours and 2,349 original debunking posts on Sina Weibo. Findings First, debunking information that contains adequate arguments is more likely to be reposted only when the uncertainty of the rumour content is high. Second, using neutral sentiment as a reference, debunking information containing negative sentiment is shared more often regardless of whether the government is the rumour target, and information containing positive sentiment is more likely to be shared only when the rumour target is the government. Finally, debunking information published by government-type accounts is reposted more often and is enhanced when the rumour target is the government. Originality/value The study provides a systematic framework for analysing the behaviour of sharing debunking information among social media users. Specifically, it expands the understanding of the factors that influence debunking information sharing behaviour by examining the effects of persuasive cues on debunking information sharing behaviour and the heterogeneity of these effects across various rumour contexts.