Through the Partisan Looking Glass: Evidence of Asymmetric Credibility and Persuasion Effects of Unverified Negative Brand Information on Social Media

AbstractOnline disinformation often plays to partisan identities to grab attention and elicit strong reactions in polarized societies. In this research note, the perceived credibility and persuasiveness of unverified negative information about brands posted on social media and the role therein of congruencies among the partisan identity of the self, the source of information, and the brand (i.e., liberal versus conservative) are investigated. Following marketing research on “identity congruency” and “motivated reasoning” effects, three experiments demonstrate that self-source, self-brand, and source-brand partisan identity (in)congruencies can influence the credibility and persuasiveness of unverified negative brand information. However, the observed partisan identity (in)congruency effects were found to be asymmetric; that is, their nature or magnitude was dependent on whether liberal or conservative partisan identities were involved. This research note also emphasizes that unverified negative brand information posted on social media can have a substantial impact on brand evaluations, even if consumers doubt its veracity. These findings are relevant not only for advertisers (on social media) and brand managers but also for researchers who study online disinformation. It is hoped that this research note will lead to further research on the nature and drivers of asymmetric partisan identity (in)congruency effects in advertising and other communications contexts. AcknowledgementsThe author is grateful to the Editor, Associate Editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions to improve this research note. The author also thanks Negin Latifi, Sakshi Aggarwal, Sourjo Mukherjee, and Stefan Bernritter for their input, suggestions, and help with setting up and analyzing the results of earlier studies that informed this article.Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsNiek AlthuizenNiek Althuizen (PhD, Rotterdam School of Management) is an associate professor, Department of Marketing, Sales, and Communication, Montpellier Business School.