How do users respond to online rumor rebuttals?

TY - JOUR

T1 - How do users respond to online rumor rebuttals?

AU - Pal, Anjan

AU - Chua, Alton Y.K.

AU - Hoe-Lian Goh, Dion

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education Research Grant AcRF Tier 2 ( MOE2014-T2-2-020 ). Appendix A Funding Information: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education Research Grant AcRF Tier 2 (MOE2014-T2-2-020). Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2019/12/30

Y1 - 2019/12/30

N2 - Underpinned by the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework and the anchoring effect, this paper investigates how perceived message properties of online rumor rebuttals are related to perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, which further could determine rebuttal acceptance. Given the possibility that Internet users can confront a rebuttal when they are not even aware of the rumor, this paper takes into account the role of exposure sequence as a moderator. Data were collected from 322 social media users in a between-participants experiment, which manipulated the exposure sequence. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Perceived message properties were positively associated with perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, both of which were positively related to rebuttal acceptance. Exposure sequence significantly moderated the underlying mechanism of rebuttal acceptance. This paper contributes to the online rebuttal literature by examining how individuals respond to rebuttals in terms of intention to believe and share such messages. It also has implications for practitioners and other Internet users.

AB - Underpinned by the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework and the anchoring effect, this paper investigates how perceived message properties of online rumor rebuttals are related to perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, which further could determine rebuttal acceptance. Given the possibility that Internet users can confront a rebuttal when they are not even aware of the rumor, this paper takes into account the role of exposure sequence as a moderator. Data were collected from 322 social media users in a between-participants experiment, which manipulated the exposure sequence. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Perceived message properties were positively associated with perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, both of which were positively related to rebuttal acceptance. Exposure sequence significantly moderated the underlying mechanism of rebuttal acceptance. This paper contributes to the online rebuttal literature by examining how individuals respond to rebuttals in terms of intention to believe and share such messages. It also has implications for practitioners and other Internet users.

KW - Anchoring effect

KW - Exposure sequence

KW - Online rumor

KW - Rebuttal

KW - Rebuttal acceptance

KW - Stimulus-organism-response framework

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077493792&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.chb.2019.106243

DO - 10.1016/j.chb.2019.106243

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85077493792

SN - 0747-5632

VL - 106

JO - Computers in Human Behavior

JF - Computers in Human Behavior

M1 - 106243

ER -