Abstract
Rumors on social networking sites (SNS) pose a serious threat to the quality of online information. To combat rumors, the use of counter-rumors is burgeoning. Counter-rumors refer to messages that refute rumors. Little empirical research has focused on counter-rumors hitherto in the context of SNS. The ways in which users react to counter-rumors on SNS remain largely unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze Facebook comments in response to counter-rumor posts. Comments related to two cases were collected: one case was on Facebook itself while the other was on KFC. Content analysis of the comments revealed categories such as providing information and forging connection with the online community. Chi-square tests showed that the volume of the different comment types differed between the cases. Overall, the paper suggests that compared with any other brand-related rumors, refutation of Facebook-related rumors using counter-rumors on Facebook can be more effective.
Recommended Citation
Pal, Anjan; Chua, Alton Y.K.; and Goh, Dion Hoe-Lian, "Analysis of Facebook Comments in Response to Counter Rumors" (2017). PACIS 2017 Proceedings. 130.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2017/130