The impact of fake news on its sponsor’s brand trust

Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted and Yufan Sunny Qin
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Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted: University of Florida, USA
Yufan Sunny Qin: University of Florida, USA

Journal of Brand Strategy, 2021, vol. 9, issue 4, 446-465

Abstract: This study examined how fake news sponsored by brands influences consumers’ brand trust. Specifically, it explored the effects of fake news on brand trust and the factors (eg product involvement, audiences’ previous fake news experiences and media consumption) that might moderate this association. An online between-subjects questionnaire-based experiment (n = 600) was conducted with a 2 (fake/real news) × 2 (brands of high/low product involvement) design to explore the relationship between fake news and brand trust. The results showed that the difference in brand trust between fake and real news conditions was not significant. Additional analyses, however, identified a relationship between perceived news credibility and brand trust in the fake news context. In addition, the influence of news credibility on brand trust is moderated by product involvement and certain social media usage. This study suggests that fake news consumption is a complex behaviour that might not lead to the direct transfer of negative brand outcomes, as consumers might have different sensitivity levels and perceived credibility of fake news.

Keywords: fake news; brand trust; message credibility; information trust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aza:jbs000:y:2021:v:9:i:4:p:446-465

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