% pubman genre = article @article{item_3383320, title = {{Twitter and endorsed (fake) news: The influence of endorsement by strong ties, celebrities, and a user majority on credibility of fake news during the COVID-19 pandemic}}, author = {Shin, Inyoung and Wang, Luxuan and Lu, Yi-Ta}, language = {eng}, issn = {1932-8036}, doi = {1932{\textbraceleft}\textendash{\textbraceright}8036/20220005}, publisher = {The Annenberg Center for Communication}, year = {2022}, abstract = {{Focusing on a widespread COVID-19 conspiracy theory, this study examines how social{\textless}br{\textgreater}endorsement systems on Twitter, represented by retweets and metrics indicating the{\textless}br{\textgreater}number of engagements by others, affect assessment of credibility of (fake) news.{\textless}br{\textgreater}Expanding studies on social influence and endorsement-based heuristics, we hypothesized{\textless}br{\textgreater}that Twitter users would consider fake news retweeted by a strong tie and with cues{\textless}br{\textgreater}indicating a greater number of likes, comments, and retweets as more credible than news{\textless}br{\textgreater}retweeted by a celebrity and without the cues. Through a two-by-two survey experiment{\textless}br{\textgreater}among 267 Twitter users, we found evidence to support these hypotheses. We additionally{\textless}br{\textgreater}found that the effectiveness of strong ties and celebrities as retweeters varied by users{\textquoteright}{\textless}br{\textgreater}perceptions of their attributes and users{\textquoteright} interactions with them. These findings add to the{\textless}br{\textgreater}literature of news credibility by demonstrating the effects of endorsements from social{\textless}br{\textgreater}media contacts. Our study partly explains how and why fake news and disinformation{\textless}br{\textgreater}spread in the networked online environment. We conclude this study by discussing{\textless}br{\textgreater}implications for interventions of fake news on social media}}, journal = {{International Journal of Communication}}, volume = {16}, pages = {2573--2595}, }