Perceived message credibility is one of the prerequisites for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes. Research has found that perceived credibility of the information increases sharing behavior, regardless of the condition. Other factors influence sharing intention by influencing perceived message credibility, which indirectly increases sharing intention. High novelty and low efficacy are associated both with increased credibility and sharing intention.

Perceived Message Credibility and Sharing Intention

An individual's judgment of the veracity of the content of communication.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

- Efficacy information
 - Positive and negative emotions
 - Novelty of information
 - Credibility of information

Information Characteristics That Influence Sharing Intention

Song, H., So, J., Shim, M., Kim, J., Kim, J., & Lee, K. (2023). What message features influence the intention to share misinformation about COVID-19 on social media? The role of efficacy and novelty. Computers in Human Behavior, 138, 107439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107439

What message features influence the intention to share misinformation about COVID-19 on social media? The role of efficacy and novelty.

Efficacy information is perceived as possessing high utility, which is crucial in predicting behavioral outcomes. Research found that misinformation with high efficacy increased sharing intention to a greater extent than that with low efficacy. Individuals are more likely to express an intent to share information with their friends and family via social media when the message contains details on highly effective and relatively easy protective actions. 

Efficacy Information and Sharing Intention

Studies have found that strong emotions influence information sharing regardless of the factuality of the information shared. Other factors indirectly influence sharing intention by influencing emotion, which directly influences sharing intention. Research finds that novelty reduces positive emotions and increases negative emotions such as fear, leading to a reduction in sharing intention. Furthermore, high efficacy increases positive emotions such as relief, and reduced negative emotions such as worry, resulting in higher information sharing.

Emotion and Sharing Intention

Novel content orients attention to a message. Novel content concerning health, political, or personal information about the pandemic was retweeted substantially more than other content during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to this point, results from research found that less novel misinformation led to greater intention to share the message on social media. Novelty reduces positive emotions and credibility but increases negative emotions, which in turn reduces sharing intention. However, novelty also increases the impact of efficacy on sharing intention. The increase it creates in high efficacy information is theorized to be caused by the attention that novelty orients to the message.

Novelty and Sharing Intention

Perceived Message Credibility

Information regarding the ease of performing a protective action (i.e., self-efficacy) or the effectiveness of the action in reducing a given threat (i.e., response-efficacy).

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