This study investigated the interplay of consumer involvement, NFC, and emotional reactions when exposed to fake news on social media, and subsequently to an organizational rebuttal. In doing so, a 2 (rebuttal evidence type: story vs. informational) x 2 (involvement: low vs. high) x 2 (need for cognition, NFC: low vs. high) experiment was conducted.

Results showed that individuals high in involvement and NFC perceived favorably the rebuttal message as well as exhibited positive attitudes and higher donation intentions toward the affected organization when it responded to the rumors.

A significant two-way interaction between rebuttal evidence type and involvement indicated that high-involved consumers reacted positively toward the informational evidence, whereas low-involved ones preferred storytelling evidence and this increased their donation intentions.

Following an organizational refutation, it was demonstrated that the effects of negative emotions (e.g., anger, fear, sadness, disgust, anxiety) were mitigated while those of positive emotions (e.g., hope, happiness, empathy, contentment, interest) increased, leading to favorable attitudinal, donation, and social media engagement reactions. Also, individuals high in involvement and NFC displayed more positive affective reactions after receiving a rebuttal message than their low-involved and low-NFC counterparts.

The mediation analyses revealed that positive emotions were significant mediators of the effects of the story-based refutation, high-involved, and high-NFC consumers on the latter’s evaluations of the targeted organization.

本研究调查了消费者参与、NFC 和在社交媒体上暴露于虚假新闻以及随后遭到组织反驳时的情绪反应之间的相互作用。为此，进行了 2（反驳证据类型：故事与信息）x 2（参与度：低与高）x 2（认知需求，NFC：低与高）实验。

结果表明，参与度高和 NFC 的个人对反驳信息持积极态度，并在受影响的组织回应谣言时表现出积极的态度和更高的捐赠意愿。

反驳证据类型和参与度之间显着的双向交互表明，高参与度消费者对信息证据反应积极，而低参与度消费者更喜欢讲故事的证据，这增加了他们的捐赠意愿。

在组织反驳之后，证明消极情绪（例如，愤怒、恐惧、悲伤、厌恶、焦虑）的影响减弱，而积极情绪（例如，希望、幸福、同理心、满足、兴趣）的影响增加，导致良好的态度、捐赠和社交媒体参与反应。此外，在收到反驳信息后，参与度高和 NFC 的人比参与度低和 NFC 低的人表现出更积极的情感反应。

中介分析表明，积极情绪是基于故事的反驳、高参与度和高NFC消费者对目标组织评价的重要中介。