Fake News, ELM and Information Literacy: How Social Media Users Process False Information in Pakistan

This study focuses on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) for the information processing of fake news on social media with the moderating role of information literacy. It examines the effect of ELM routes (central and peripheral) on users’ ability to identify fake news or accept the content as true. An online survey of four groups of social media users was conducted after sharing four fake news items, one post for each group. Results showed that information literacy is negatively associated with accepting fake news. Users who accept fake news as true are more likely to share it further. The quality of the argument decreases the likelihood of accepting fake news, but subject relevance increases it. Image appeal does not influence the acceptance of fake news, whereas users are vulnerable to spreading fake content if they give weight to source credibility. The findings suggest that improved literacy education for individual users as gatekeepers may reduce the frequency of sharing fake news on social media platforms.