Title:	FACT-CHECKING & SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING BEHAVIOR AMONG UAE YOUTH
Author(s):	Ashraf Khalila, Salam Abdallahb and Kundan Noor Sheikh
ISBN:	978-989-8533-90-6
Editors:	Piet Kommers and Guo Chao Peng
Year:	2019
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Social Media, Online Misinformation, Privacy, Young Adult, Religiosity, Social Conformity
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	278
Last Page:	284
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	With the advent of the internet and social media, the spread of online misinformation has become a matter of serious concern for scholars and decision makers all over the world. Given this platform’s relative lack of censorship and extensive as well as swift reach, the likelihood of unverified information content spreading unchallenged in the digital world has grown exponentially. This study aims to understand the patterns of content-sharing behavior on major social media platforms by young adults living in United Arab Emirates, and how this is influenced by various demographic and social factors in an individual user’s life, such as social conformity and religiosity. A qualitative analysis of 6 semi-structured interviews on young adult users ranging between 18 to 24 years of age in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was conducted to ascertain their sharing patterns as well as tendencies to verify content being shared via social media. The study finds that the need for social conformity and religiosity influence what users share on social media and how likely they are to verify information before sharing it.
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