Fake News on social media and Third Person Effect

In order to propose a solid vision about how dangerous that people feel towards the spreading of fake news, especially through social media, the study aimed to focus on this phenomenon in light of the theory of the “Third Person Effect”. The study is divided into two parts: the quantitative part, which was based on conducting a questionnaire on a sample of 250 mass communication students, while the qualitative part relied on conducting in-depth interviews with groups of investigative journalists and influencers on Facebook.
Results:
-It was found that the respondents believe that others are more affected than them by fake news on social media, and that belief has a positive and significant relationship with the perceptual gap between (self-exposure and others exposure) to this type of news.
-It was found also that there was no significant relationship between respondents’ belief- that others are more affected than them- by fake news on social media, and both the degree of support for restrictive actions, and the degree of support for media literacy interventions, while it was found that there was a positive and significant relationship with the degree of support for corrective actions (intent to engage in social media activism). It was found that the self-efficacy in evaluating fake news had a positive and significant relationship with the degree of support for restrictive and corrective actions. Regarding to the qualitative study, the respondents developed their vision of the restrictive and corrective actions needed to fight this phenomenon and limiting its impact.