Sharing Intention of Politicized News on Social Media: Mediators and Moderators

Abstract

Social media is now full of news, much of it politicized news that intends to draw attention and provoke a reaction from users. Prior studies have suggested the importance of social influence on driving sharing intention of news on social media. This study contributes to this discourse by examining the various mediators and moderators for such relationships. Particularly, we examine whether credibility and trust can mediate the relationship between social influence and sharing intention; and whether news type and social identity can moderate such a relationship too. Based on a survey of 802 respondents, we found evidence to support our hypothesized moderation and mediation relationship. What stands out is that among the social influences, credibility and trust only partially mediate the effects of injunctive norms on sharing intention. This suggests that social norms in different cultures and settings can play different roles in the sharing intention of news on social media.