Volume 1 Issue 2: September 2022

Video and audio fake news formats distributed on Facebook in the form of dis/misinformation have caused so much fear, and panic, and received unpleasant reactions among users. This study adopted a comparative experimental design to test the hypotheses by varying the valence, thus types of formats or modalities, the educational levels, credibility, and sharing intentions of the participants, thus, 2 (video vs audio formats) ×2 (credibility vs sharing intentions) × 2 (literate vs. illiterate) to predict the specific media format(s) that influence the spread of fake news on Facebook among users in Ghana. The participants (N = 340) for this study were recruited from the three municipalities in Accra the national capital of Ghana. The research design regarding data sources was carried out in the form of a street intercept survey method. The findings show that users of Facebook believed and shared video formatted fake news than audio formatted. Further analyses indicate that the educational levels (literacy and illiteracy) variables that influence the spread of fake news on Facebook were not consistent. Besides, an in-depth theoretical explanation for modality effects when viewed from the perspective of mobile media, the study has proposed some theoretical and practical implications.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a technique for determining a measure’s factor structure and assessing its internal consistency or reliability. EFA is essential for determining which components should be included in the study instrument. Social media is one of the most critical factors that affect online shopping behaviour. Thus, this study aims to use exploratory factor analysis to validate an instrument measuring social media in the context of online shopping. The questionnaire used in this study is adapted from previous studies. The researchers utilised a cross-sectional research design to conduct the EFA, collecting data from 100 respondents using a structured survey. The result shows that the construct has one component. The KMO is 0.892, and the outcome of Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was significant (Chisquare = 510.816, p-value 0.000; this indicated that the data are okay to proceed. Cronbach’s Alpha was higher than 0.7, meaning that all items are reliable. The study concludes that the instruments used to measure social media in this research are valid and reliable.

The purpose of this investigation was to systematically evaluate environmental communication studies across the communication-related disciplines. This study achieved the goal by examining published articles in 28 journals from the time period spanning 1973-2014. A total of 142 articles were evaluated based on an analysis of authorial, topical, theoretical, and methodological information. The findings demonstrate exponential growth in the number of environmental communication studies in recent years. A wide range of scholars and institutions has contributed to this area of research. A majority of the articles focused on environmental issues. The outcome of this study could provide a comprehensive picture of communication-based environmental research and guide the directions of future research in this area.