Social media influencers talk about politics: Investigating the role of source factors and PSR in Gen-Z followers’ perceived information quality, receptivity and sharing intention

References

• Austin, E. W., Vord, R. V., Pinkleton, B. E., & Epstein, E. (2008). Celebrity endorsements and their potential to motivate young voters. Mass Communication and Society, 11(4), 420–436. doi:10.1080/15205430701866600
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Basil, M. D. (1996). Identification as a mediator of celebrity effects. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 40(4), 478–495. doi:10.1080/08838159609364370
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• BBC News, (2020, February 13). Mike Bloomberg campaign pays influencers for memes. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51493403
   Google Scholar
• Becker, A. B. (2013). Star power? Advocacy, receptivity, and viewpoints on celebrity involvement in issue politics. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 21(1), 1–16. doi:10.1080/15456870.2013.743310
   Google Scholar
• Boerman, S. C., & Van Reijmersdal, E. A. (2020). Disclosing influencer marketing on YouTube to children: The moderating role of Parasocial relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 3042. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03042
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication & Society, 18(5), 524–538. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2015.1008542
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Breves, P. L., Liebers, N., Abt, M., & Kunze, A. (2019). The perceived fit between instagram influencers and the endorsed brand. Journal of Advertising Research, 59(4), 440–454. doi:10.2501/jar-2019-030
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chahal, M. (2016). Four trends that will shape media in 2016. Marketing Week. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from http://www.marketingweek.com/2016/01/08/four-trends-that-will-shape-media-in-2016
   Google Scholar
• Chung, S., & Fink, E. L. (2018). One of the most cited persuasion studies but no success in replication: Investigating replication using Petty, Cacioppo, and Goldman (1981) as an example. Annals of the International Communication Association, 42(1), 1–20. doi:10.1080/23808985.2018.1425100
   Google Scholar
• Cohen, E. L., & Hoffner, C. (2016). Finding meaning in a celebrity’s death: The relationship between parasocial attachment, grief, and sharing educational health information related to Robin Williams on social network sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 643–650. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.042
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cunningham, S., & Craig, D. (2017). Being ‘really real’on YouTube: Authenticity, community and brand culture in social media entertainment. Media International Australia, 164(1), 71–81. doi:10.1177/1329878X17709098
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dang-Xuan, L., Stieglitz, S., Wladarsch, J., & Neuberger, C. (2013). An investigation of influentials and the role of sentiment in political communication on Twitter during election periods. Information, Communication & Society, 16(5), 795–825. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2013.783608
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dekavalla, M. (2020). Gaining trust: The articulation of transparency by You Tube fashion and beauty content creators. Media, Culture & Society, 42(1), 75–92. doi:10.1177/0163443719846613
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dekoninck, H., & Schmuck, D. (2022). The mobilizing power of influencers for pro-environmental behavior intentions and political participation. Environmental Communication, 1–15. doi:10.1080/17524032.2022.2027801
   Google Scholar
• De Meulenaer, S., De Pelsmacker, P., & Dens, N. (2018). Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and the effects of source credibility on health risk message compliance. Health Communication, 33(3), 291–298. doi:10.1080/10410236.2016.1266573
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dhanesh, G. S., & Duthler, G. (2019). Relationship management through social media influencers: Effects of followers’ awareness of paid endorsement. Public Relations Review, 45(3), 101765. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.03.002
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dibble, J. L., Hartmann, T., & Rosaen, S. F. (2016). Parasocial interaction and parasocial relationship: Conceptual clarification and a critical assessment of measures. Human Communication Research, 42(1), 21–44. doi:10.1111/hcre.12063
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Djafarova, E., & Rushworth, C. (2017). Exploring the credibility of online celebrities’ Instagram profiles in influencing the purchase decisions of young female users. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.009
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Drizin, J. H., Malcarne, V. L., Schiaffino, M. K., & Wells, K. J. (2017). College women’s responses to a celebrity health disclosure. Health Communication, 33(10), 1302–1307. doi:10.1080/10410236.2017.1351276
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Enke, N., & Borchers, N. S. (2019). Social media influencers in strategic communication: A conceptual framework for strategic social media influencer communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(4), 261–277. doi:10.1080/1553118x.2019.1620234
   Google Scholar
• Enli, G. S., & Skogerbø, E. (2013). Personalized campaigns in party-centred politics: Twitter and Facebook as arenas for political communication. Information, Communication & Society, 16(5), 757–774. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2013.782330
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fardouly, J., & Rapee, R. M. (2019). The impact of no-makeup selfies on young women’s body image. Body Image, 28, 128–134. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.01.006
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fazli-Salehi, R., Jahangard, M., Torres, I. M., Madadi, R., & Zúñiga, M. Á. (2022). Social media reviewing channels: The role of channel interactivity and vloggers’ self-disclosure in consumers’ parasocial interaction. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 13(4), 261–277. doi:10.1108/JCM-06-2020-3866
   Google Scholar
• Feng, B., & MacGeorge, E. L. (2010). The influences of message and source factors on advice outcomes. Communication Research, 37(4), 553–575. doi:10.1177/0093650210368258
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Freberg, K., Graham, K., McGaughey, K., & Freberg, L. A. (2011). Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 90–92. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.11.001
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Frederick, E. L., Choong, H. L., Clavio, G., & Walsh, P. (2012). Why we follow: An examination of parasocial interaction and fan motivations for following athlete archetypes on Twitter. International Journal of Sport Communication, 5(4), 481–502. doi:10.1123/ijsc.5.4.481
   Google Scholar
• Fu, S., Xu, Y., & Yan, Q. (2019). Enhancing the parasocial interaction relationship between consumers through similarity effects in the context of social commerce: Evidence from social commerce platforms in China. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 27(2), 100–118. doi:10.1080/0965254X.2017.1384045
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Garthwaite, C., and Moore, T. J. (2013). Can Celebrity Endorsements Affect Political Outcomes? Evidence from the 2008 US Democratic Presidential Primary. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 29(2), 355–384. doi:10.1093/jleo/ewr031
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gerbaudo, P., Marogna, F., & Alzetta, C. (2019). When “positive posting” attracts voters: User engagement and emotions in the 2017 UK election campaign on facebook. Social Media+ Society, 5(4), 1–11. doi:10.1177/2056305119881695
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Global Web Index. (2021). Who follows influencers? A Demographic Breakdown [Infographic] Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.shopify.com/blog/influencer-marketing-statistics
   Google Scholar
• Gong, W., & Li, X. (2018). Microblogging reactions to celebrity endorsement: Effects of parasocial relationship and source factors. Chinese Journal of Communication, 12(2), 185–203. doi:10.1080/17544750.2018.1511607
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
   Google Scholar
• Hemsley, J. (2019). Followers retweet! The influence of middle‐level gatekeepers on the spread of political information on Twitter. Policy & Internet, 11(3), 280–304. doi:10.1002/poi3.202
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Himelboim, I., & Golan, G. J. (2019). A social networks approach to viral advertising: The role of primary, contextual, and low influencers. Social Media+ Society, 5(3), 1–13. doi:10.1177/2056305119847516
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Horton, D., & Richard Wohl, R. (1956). Mass communication and parasocial interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215–229. doi:10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hovland, C. I., Janis, I. L., & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and Persuasion. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Hurley, Z. (2022). Middle Eastern women influencers’ interdependent/ independent subjectification on Tiktok: Feminist postdigital transnational inquiry. Information, Communication & Society, 25(6), 734–751. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2022.2044500
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hwang, K., & Zhang, Q. (2018). Influence of parasocial relationship between digital celebrities and their followers on followers’ purchase and electronic word-of-mouth intentions, and persuasion knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 155–173. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.029
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jackson, D. J., & Darrow, T. I. A. (2016). The influence of celebrity endorsements on young adults’ political opinions. Harvard International Journal of Press/ Politics, 10(3), 80–98. doi:10.1177/1081180x05279278
   Google Scholar
• Jin, S. V., & Muqaddam, A. (2019). Product placement 2.0: “Do brands need influencers, or do influencers need brands? Journal of Brand Management, 26(5), 522–537. doi:10.1057/s41262-019-00151-z
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Keum, H., Devanathan, N., Deshpande, S., Nelson, M. R., & Shah, D. V. (2004). The citizen-consumer: Media effects at the intersection of consumer and civic culture. Political Communication, 21(3), 369–391. doi:10.1080/10584600490481479
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kim, D. (2021). Racialized beauty, visibility, and empowerment: Asian American women influencers on Youtube. Information, Communication & Society, 1–18. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2021.1994626
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kostygina, G., Tran, H., Binns, S., Szczypka, G., Emery, S., Vallone, D., & Hair, E. (2020). Boosting health campaign reach and engagement through use of social media influencers and memes. Social Media+ Society, 6(2), 1–12. doi:10.1177/2056305120912475
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Labrecque, L. I. (2014). Fostering consumer–brand relationships in social media environments: The role of parasocial interaction. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(2), 134–148. doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2013.12.003
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lavine, H., & Snyder, M. (1996). Cognitive processing and the functional matching effect in persuasion: The mediating role of subjective perceptions of message quality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 32(6), 580–604. doi:10.1006/jesp.1996.0026
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lee, J. A., Sudarshan, S., Sussman, K. L., Bright, L. F., & Eastin, M. S. (2022). Why are consumers following social media influencers on Instagram? Exploration of consumers’ motives for following influencers and the role of materialism. International Journal of Advertising, 41(1), 78–100. doi:10.1080/02650487.2021.1964226
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lee, J. E., & Watkins, B. (2016). YouTube vloggers’ influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5753–5760. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.04.171
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lewis, R. (2020). “This is what the news won’t show you”: YouTube creators and the reactionary politics of micro-celebrity. Television & New Media, 21(2), 201–217. doi:10.1177/1527476419879919
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lou, C., & Kim, H. K. (2019). Fancying the new rich and famous? explicating the roles of influencer content, credibility, and parental mediation in adolescents’ parasocial relationship, materialism, and purchase intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02567
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lou, C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58–73. doi:10.1080/15252019.2018.1533501
   Google Scholar
• Marwick, A. (2015). You may know me from YouTube (micro-)celebrity in social media. In S. Redmond & P. D. Marshall (Eds.), A Companion to Celebrity (pp. 333–349). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
   Google Scholar
• McGuire, W. J. (1985). Attitudes and Attitude Change. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 233–346). New York, NY: Random House.
   Google Scholar
• Merriam-Webster. (2020). Advocacy. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advocacy
   Google Scholar
• Meyer, D. S. (1995). The challenge of cultural elites: Celebrities and social movements. Sociological Inquiry, 65(2), 181–206. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.1995.tb00412.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Morning Consult. (2020). The influencer report: Engaging Gen Z and Millennials. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/The-Influencer-Report-Engaging-Gen-Z-and-Millennials.pdf
   Google Scholar
• Moyer-Gusé, E. (2008). Toward a theory of entertainment persuasion: Explaining the persuasive effects of entertainment-education messages. Communication Theory, 18(3), 407–425. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2008.00328.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Munnukka, J., Uusitalo, O., & Toivonen, H. (2016). Credibility of a peer endorser and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(3), 182–192. doi:10.1108/JCM-11-2014-1221
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Naderer, B. (2022). Influencers as political agents? The potential of an unlikely source to motivate political action. Communications. doi:10.1515/commun-2021-0006
   Google Scholar
• Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers’ perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19, 39–52. doi:10.1080/00913367.1990.10673191
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Park, H. S., Levine, T. R., Kingsley Westerman, C. Y., Orfgen, T., & Foregger, S. (2007). The effects of argument quality and involvement type on attitude formation and attitude change: A test of dual-process and social judgment predictions. Human Communication Research, 33(1), 81–102. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00290.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pease, A., & Brewer, P. R. (2008). The Oprah factor: The effects of a celebrity endorsement in a presidential primary campaign. The International Journal of press/politics, 13(4), 386–400. doi:10.1177/1940161208321948
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Phua, J. (2016). The effects of similarity, parasocial identification, and source credibility in obesity public service announcements on diet and exercise self-efficacy. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(5), 699–708. doi:10.1177/1359105314536452
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pornpitakpan, C. (2004). The persuasiveness of source credibility: A critical review of five decades’ evidence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(2), 243–281. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02547.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Reinikainen, H., Munnukka, J., Maity, D., & Luoma-aho, V. (2020). ‘You really are a great big sister’–parasocial relationships, credibility, and the moderating role of audience comments in influencer marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 36(3–4), 279–298. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2019.1708781
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sahly, A., Shao, C., & Kwon, K. H. (2019). Social media for political campaigns: An examination of Trump’s and Clinton’s frame building and its effect on audience engagement. Social Media+ Society, 5(2), 1–13. doi:10.1177/2056305119855141
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schmuck, D., Hirsch, M., Stevic, A., & Matthes, J. (2022). Politics–Simply explained? How influencers affect youth’s perceived simplification of politics, political cynicism, and political interest. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 27(3), 738–762. doi:10.1177/19401612221088987
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2020). Celebrity vs. Influencer endorsements in advertising: The role of identification, credibility, and Product-Endorser fit. International Journal of Advertising, 39(2), 258–281. doi:10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Starke, C., Marcinkowski, F., & Wintterlin, F. (2020). Social networking sites, personalization, and trust in government: Empirical evidence for a mediation model. Social Media+ Society, 6(2), 1–11. doi:10.1177/2056305120913885
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Statista. (2022). U.S. internet users paying attention to influencer recommendations 2019, by ethnicity. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1081744/attention-towards-influencer-recommendations-ethnic-us/.
   Google Scholar
• Stehr, P., Roessler, P., Leer, L., & Schoenhardt, F. (2015). Parasocial opinion leadership media personalities’ influence within parasocial relations: Theoretical conceptualization and preliminary results. International Journal of Communication. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2717/1350
   Google Scholar
• Suuronen, A., Reinikainen, H., Borchers, N. S., & Strandberg, K. (2022). When social media influencers go political: An exploratory analysis on the emergence of political topics among Finnish influencers. Javnost-The Public, 1–17. doi:10.1080/13183222.2021.1983367
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tufekci, Z. (2013). “Not this one”: Social movements, the attention economy, and microcelebrity networked activism. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(7), 848–870. doi:10.1177/0002764213479369
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tukachinsky, R. (2010). Para-romantic love and parafriendships: Development and assessment of a multiple parasocial relationships scale. American Journal of Media Psychology, 3, 73–94. https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/comm_articles/19/
   Google Scholar
• Tukachinsky, R., & Sangalang, A. (2016). The effect of relational and interactive aspects of parasocial experiences on attitudes and message resistance. Communication Reports, 29(3), 175–188. doi:10.1080/08934215.2016.1148750
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tukachinsky, R., and Tokunaga, R. S. (2013). 10 The Effects of Engagement with Entertainment. Annals of the International Communication Association, 37(1), 287–322. doi:10.1080/23808985.2013.11679153
   Google Scholar
• Vaccari, C., & Valeriani, A. (2015). Follow the leader! Direct and indirect flows of political communication during the 2013 Italian general election campaign. New Media & Society, 17(7), 1025–1042. doi:10.1177/1461444813511038
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Veer, E., Harris, P., Becirovic, I., Martin, B. A. S., & Harris, P. (2010). If Kate voted conservative, would you? European Journal of Marketing, 44(3/4), 436–450. doi:10.1108/03090561011020516
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Vox. (2020, September 22). Inside the Biden campaign’s surprising influencer strategy. https://www.vox.com/recode/21429755/influencers-joe-biden-democrats-pacs-social-media-facebook-instagram-campaign
   Google Scholar
• Wang, M., Sun, L. L., & Hou, J. D. (2021). How emotional interaction affects purchase intention in social commerce: The role of perceived usefulness and product type. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 14, 467–481. doi:10.2147/PRBM.S301286
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Xiao, M., Wang, R., & Chan-Olmsted, S. (2018). Factors affecting YouTube influencer marketing credibility: A heuristic-systematic model. Journal of Media Business Studies, 15(3), 188–213. doi:10.1080/16522354.2018.1501146
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yılmazdoğan, O. C., Doğan, R. Ş., & Altıntaş, E. (2021). The impact of the source credibility of Instagram influencers on travel intention: The mediating role of parasocial interaction. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 27(3), 299–313. doi:10.1177/1356766721995973
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yuan, S., & Lou, C. (2020). How social media influencers foster relationships with followers: The roles of source credibility and fairness in parasocial relationship and product interest. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(2), 133–147. doi:10.1080/15252019.2020.1769514
   Google Scholar
• Zimmermann, D., Noll, C., Gräßer, L., Hugger, K.-U., Braun, L. M., Nowak, T., & Kaspar, K. (2022). Influencers on YouTube: A quantitative study on young people’s use and perception of videos about political and societal topics. Current Psychology, 41, 6808–6824. doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01164-7
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar