Impact of Fake News on Readers’ Usage Behaviour for News Items on Facebook and Twitter
Charu Panwar1, Anshu Arora2 

1Charu Panwar, PhD Research Scholar, Amity School of Communication, Amity University, Noida.
2Anshu Arora, Associate Professor, Amity School of Communication, Amity University, Noida.

Manuscript received on 05 March 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 09 March 2019 | Manuscript published on 30 July 2019 | PP: 2564-2568 | Volume-8 Issue-2, July 2019 | Retrieval Number: B1044078219/19©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.B1044.078219
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: The goal of this study is to identify the major changes in the usage behaviour of social media users due to the presence of fake news and also to find the impact various behavioural changes of fake news on overall usage behaviour of social media. Design/Methodology: The present study is descriptive in nature. A well structured questionnaire was used for the collection of primary data. Five point Likert scale has been used in the questionnaire. A total number of 263 duly filled questionnaire were collected at the end of the field survey which were found fit for the study. Mean and multiple regression were used for data analysis. Findings: Fake news on social media significantly reduces the engagement rate of the social media users. There happens an increase in removal of friendship, unfollowing of the page / person. However the results differ as per the objectives of social media usage specially with respect to staying updated with the latest news. Originality/ Value: There is hardly any research in the Indian context that explains about the impact of fake news on various aspects of usage behaviour of social media users. The study has investigated the impact of various social media behaviour changes with respect to fake news with empirical evidences.
Index terms: Face Book, Twitter, Fake News, Multiple Regression, Usage Beahviour.

Scope of the Article: Behaviour of Structures