Through the Partisan Looking Glass: Evidence of Asymmetric Credibility and Persuasion Effects of Unverified Negative Brand Information on Social Media
研究了社交媒体上未经证实的负面品牌信息，发现其可信度和说服力受自我、信息源和品牌的党派身份一致性影响，且这种影响在自由派和保守派间不对称。
Online disinformation often plays to partisan identities to grab attention and elicit strong reactions in polarized societies. In this research note, the perceived credibility and persuasiveness of unverified negative information about brands posted on social media and the role therein of congruencies among the partisan identity of the self, the source of information, and the brand (i.e., liberal versus conservative) are investigated. Following marketing research on “identity congruency” and “motivated reasoning” effects, three experiments demonstrate that self-source, self-brand, and source-brand partisan identity (in)congruencies can influence the credibility and persuasiveness of unverified negative brand information. However, the observed partisan identity (in)congruency effects were found to be asymmetric; that is, their nature or magnitude was dependent on whether liberal or conservative partisan identities were involved. This research note also emphasizes that unverified negative brand information posted on social media can have a substantial impact on brand evaluations, even if consumers doubt its veracity. These findings are relevant not only for advertisers (on social media) and brand managers but also for researchers who study online disinformation. It is hoped that this research note will lead to further research on the nature and drivers of asymmetric partisan identity (in)congruency effects in advertising and other communications contexts.