Assessment Of Social Media News Credibility Among The Residents Of Enugu Metropolis

Abstract

The study investigated social media news credibility among the residents of Enugu Metropolis.  The survey research design was used in the study. The sample size was 369 and the population comprised the residents of Enugu Metropolis which is 764,289. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed in selecting the sample systematically after which the questionnaire was distributed online and some physically. The findings in the study shows that the most used social media platforms among residents of Enugu Metropolis are Facebook, Instagram  and WhatsApp more than the other platforms and they use these platforms mostly for information and communication. The Majority of the participants had the opinion that social media news are credible based on timeliness, source, citations and credibility of the author or organization. Based on the findings of this study, the following were recommended; that necessary codes of conduct and ethics should be adopted by social media owners to guarantee credibility and accuracy of information. Media literacy should be encouraged among the users of social media to enable them control and determine what they do with the information that they receive over the media. It is recommended that effort should be made on the part of the audience to compare information obtained from social media with other available news sources before accepting or even fleeting the same information to other helpless users and many more.