CCE Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems (DISS)
Department
College of Computing and Engineering
Advisor
Ling Wang
Committee Member
Mary Haward
Committee Member
Junping Sun
Keywords
Advanced computer technologies, Combating Disinformation, Identifying disinformation, Influences of social factors, Media and Information Literacy, Social Media Networks
Abstract
In the Internet age, social media networks (SMNs), such as Facebook (FB), Instagram (IG), and Twitter (TW), have gained popularity and become an essential part of human life. SMNs provide ease of connection to family, friends, and communities; however, they increase the chances social media network users (SMN users) will disclose private information (PI), causing critical harm to SMN users’ information privacy (IP). Furthermore, SMN users are exposed to significant amounts of disinformation, misinformation, or fake news, which they share without realizing the information is untrustworthy.
The goal of this developmental research was to investigate, examine, and understand the effects of a revised version of traditional media information literacy (MIL) training from UNESCO with integrated education on advanced computer technologies on SMN users’ abilities to combat the spread of disinformation. The research participants were divided into an experimental group with MIL training, a group with MIL and advanced computer technologies training, and a control group without training. In addition, this research also examined the influences of social factors, including interpersonal influences, self-esteem, self-disclosure, fear of missing out and ignorance, and the propensity to share fake news on identifying disinformation and sharing disinformation. This developmental research was quantitative, and the participants accessed the web site for attending the MIL training, assessments, and answering questionnaires. The collected data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA, General Linear Model (GLM) with repeated measures along with the Tukey's Honest Significant Difference (HSD) test, the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the training interventions in MIL when integrated with advanced computer technologies training among the participants. The findings further underscore the detrimental effects of various social factors, such as Self-Esteem, Self-Determination Theory, Cognitive Theory, Fear of Missing Out, Social Comparison Theory, and the Theory of Rational Choice, on efforts to combat disinformation among SMN (social media network) users. Despite receiving media literacy training and acknowledging that disinformation should not be disseminated, many SMN users continue to do so, driven by the underlying social factors. This study provides critical insights into the efficacy of media literacy interventions in reducing the spread of disinformation, offering significant practical, theoretical, and policy-related implications for future disinformation countermeasures.
NSUWorks Citation
Oscar Kwok Chao Ho. 2024. Combating Disinformation on Social Media Networks with Media and Information Literacy Training for Social Media Network Users. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Computing and Engineering. (1200)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/1200.
