Fake news and brands: attitude towards fake news sharing on social media and its impact on purchase intentions

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the dissemination of false information over social media, to the point where even brands have been affected by it. The paper aimed at developing a model to study the behaviour of brand related fake news sharing. The factors predicting brand related fake news sharing were based on the uses and gratification theory (UGT) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the model was extended to brand purchase intention. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse 140 social media users' data using AMOS 23.0 software. Gratification factors of entertainment, information sharing and socialising positively predicted consumers' attitude towards brand related fake news sharing with socialisation gratification being the strongest motivator. The study uncovered the relationship between attitude towards sharing fake news and brand purchase intention. The study will provide significant practical implications, which may steer future research endeavours on brand related fake news.