Social Disclosure Behavior: Investigating Fake News Sharing on Social Media and News Verification Amidst the Covid-19

Abstract

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Spreading false information about health-related issues on social media platforms has drawn significant attention from all over the world. In addition to this, the reliance on social media for news consumption has made it probable for false news to be disseminated extensively as it is not expensive, easy to use, and quick to send. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media platforms have seen an increase in the sharing of information, which has also contributed to the propagation of deceptive, false, or fake news. This study intends to analyze news verification behavior, social disclosure behavior, and fake news spreading during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was encouraged by the serious concerns that the widespread transmission of fake news is linked to public health, trust, and societal well-being. By utilizing a quantitative methodology, the data was gathered by an electronically administrated survey from social media users from different universities in Lahore by using a sample size of 400. The study has found that the general behavior of social media users is to not verify news from other sources, especially during crisis situations when the speed of news sharing increases. This lack of verification contributes to the spread of fake news. It has explored that disclosure behavior leads to the spread of fake news while news verification behavior has a significant negative relationship with fake news sharing.