Asia pacific journal of information systems

The Korea Society of Management Information Systems (한국경영정보학회)
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Why Do People Spread Online Rumors? An Empirical Study

  • Jong-Hyun Kim (Fintech investment team, Korea Investment Partners Co.) ;
  • Gee-Woo Bock (Business School, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Rajiv Sabherwal (Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas) ;
  • Han-Min Kim (Business School, Sungkyunkwan University)
  • Received : 2019.03.21
  • Accepted : 2019.07.15
  • Published : 2019.12.31
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Abstract

With the proliferation of social media, it has become easier for people to spread rumors online, which can aggravate the issues arising from online rumors. There are many individuals and organizations that are adversely affected by malicious online rumors. Despite their importance, there has been little research into why and how people spread rumors online, thus inhibiting the understanding of factors that affect the spreading of online rumors. With attention seeking to address this gap, this paper draws upon the dual process theory and the de-individuation theory to develop a theoretical model of factors affecting the spreading of an online rumor, and then empirically tests it using survey data from 211 individuals about a specific rumor. The results indicate that the perceived credibility of the rumor affects the individuals' attitudes toward spreading it, which consequently affects the rumor spreading behavior. Vividness, confirmation of prior beliefs, argument strength, and source credibility positively influence the perceived credibility of online rumors. Finally, anonymity moderates the relationship between attitude toward spreading online rumors and the spreading behavior.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Samsung Research Fund [2008-0458-000].

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