Purpose

“Fake news” or misinformation sharing using social media sites into public discourse or politics has increased dramatically, over the last few years, especially in the current COVID-19 pandemic causing concern. However, this phenomenon is inadequately researched. This study examines fake news sharing with the lens of stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, uses and gratification theory (UGT) and big five personality traits (BFPT) theory to understand the motivations for sharing fake news and the personality traits that do so. The stimuli in the model comprise gratifications (pass time, entertainment, socialization, information sharing and information seeking) and personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness and neuroticism). The feeling of authenticating or instantly sharing news is the organism leading to sharing fake news, which forms the response in the study.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model was tested by the data collected from a sample of 221 social media users in India. The data were analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling to determine the effects of UGT and personality traits on fake news sharing. The moderating role of the platform WhatsApp or Facebook was studied.

Findings

The results suggest that pass time, information sharing and socialization gratifications lead to instant sharing news on social media platforms. Individuals who exhibit extraversion, neuroticism and openness share news on social media platforms instantly. In contrast, agreeableness and conscientiousness personality traits lead to authentication news before sharing on the social media platform.

Originality/value

This study contributes to social media literature by identifying the user gratifications and personality traits that lead to sharing fake news on social media platforms. Furthermore, the study also sheds light on the moderating influence of the choice of the social media platform for fake news sharing.

中文翻译：

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假新闻还是真新闻？了解在社交媒体平台上分享假新闻的个人的满足感和个性特征

目的

在过去几年中，使用社交媒体网站在公共话语或政治中分享“假新闻”或错误信息的情况急剧增加，尤其是在当前引起关注的 COVID-19 大流行中。然而，对这一现象的研究还不够充分。本研究从刺激-有机体-反应 (SOR) 理论、使用和满足理论 (UGT) 和大五人格特质 (BFPT) 理论的角度审视假新闻分享，以了解分享假新闻的动机和造成假新闻的人格特质所以。模型中的刺激包括满足感（消磨时间、娱乐、社交、信息共享和信息寻求）和人格特征（随和、认真、外向、开放和神经质）。

设计/方法/方法

该概念模型通过从印度 221 名社交媒体用户的样本中收集的数据进行了测试。使用偏最小二乘结构方程模型分析数据，以确定 UGT 和人格特征对假新闻共享的影响。研究了 WhatsApp 或 Facebook 平台的调节作用。

发现

结果表明，消磨时间、信息共享和社交满足感会导致在社交媒体平台上即时分享新闻。表现出外向性、神经质和开放性的人会立即在社交媒体平台上分享新闻。相比之下，随和和尽责的人格特质会在社交媒体平台上分享之前导致认证新闻。

原创性/价值

这项研究通过识别导致在社交媒体平台上分享假新闻的用户满足感和个性特征，为社交媒体文学做出了贡献。此外，该研究还揭示了选择社交媒体平台对虚假新闻共享的调节影响。