Review Article

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2019
Global Media Journal
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The Global Network of

Facebook credibility: Evidence from Online Mohamed A. Fadl Elhadidi*

and Offline Political Participation, Political Assistant professor of Journalism,
Contribution, and Platform Efficacy Department of Mass Communication,
Faculty of arts, Damietta University,
Egypt

Abstract *Corresponding author:

This study seeks to explore how Egyptian adult users assess Facebook credibility Mohamed A. Fadl Elhadidi
and to test political and non-political factors that predict such credibility, using
survey data (N=590). Exploratory factor analysis generated four categories of 16  mohamedelhadidi@du.edu.eg;
attributes of Facebook credibility; timeliness, transparency, social impact, and Mohamed_elhadidi@yahoo.com
independency. Findings show that both the use of political content of Facebook
and reliance on it for political information were limited predictors of some
categories of Facebook credibility. In addition, users' evaluation of Facebook as an Assistant professor of Journalism,
independent medium was only conditioned to their online political participation. Department of Mass Communication,
On the other hand, users' views on both the efficacy of Facebook and its positive Faculty of arts, Damietta University, Egypt
contribution to the community in addition to their active participation of political
content on that platform were strong predictors for the four categories of Tel: +00201001459569
Facebook credibility. Findings also deliberated the underlying causes of predicting
demographic variables for some kinds of Facebook credibility.
Keywords: Facebook credibility; Interactivity: Political participation; Media efficacy;
Media dependency; Political contribution
Citation: Elhadidi MAF. Facebook credibility:
Evidence from Online and Offline Political
Received: April 08, 2019; Accepted: April 25, 2019; Published: May 03, 2019 Participation, Political Contribution, and
Platform Efficacy. Global Media Journal 2019,
Introduction 17:32.
Facebook (FB) which became the most widely used social network media individually is a complicated issue because of its greater
site in the world [1] is now the most popular one in Egypt that freedom, and it reflects the user's point of view and individual
37 million Egyptians access FB every month with over 22 million credibility. This freedom may give credibility to FB more than
or 59% of monthly active people return every day [2]. This is a traditional media, which may be directed by authorities or interest
high percentage compared to the number of users of the rest of groups, but it remains the questions about the extent of social
social media in Egypt, as Instagram is becoming the 2nd popular responsibility and the credibility resulting from that freedom.
social network for Egyptians with 2.7 million while the average Also, when touching upon the digital democracy, questions are
for active Twitter users in Egypt accounts for 1.7 million [3]. These raised about the feasibility of FB in the political movement, either
data indicate the growing role that FB can play politically, socially, through the political activity of users on this platform or through
economically, and humanly, because it attracts large segments their political activity outside of it, resulting from their belief in
of society, requiring its users to investigate the credibility and the credibility of Facebook.
proper planning of information and news exchange. FB has
official accounts that broadcast real news, as well as accounts Study Problem
of well-known businesses that are interested in spreading their
products to their audiences and potential consumers. There are Looking at the pivotal role of FB for communities and users, FB
also individuals and public figures who recognize the importance can be an ideal tool for exceeding government media barriers,
of credibility in publishing content through FB and other social especially in less fortunate societies in democracy. In addition,
media sites. However, there are many actors on this platform FB can contribute positively to social mobility in its various forms.
who lack the professional foundation and are focusing on the But FB users are often exposed to deceptive operations of fake
sensational news which lack original and reliable sources to win and false news which are anonymous and unreliable. This leads to
more followers. Such uncertainty aspects affect the credibility of FB being a fertile breeding ground for rumors and misinformation
FB at times of the emergence and circulation of important events and thus spreading the hypnotic awareness. Since FB as a social
in community contexts. The management of FB and other social medium contains abundant political messages [4], this type of

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serious topics may create political confusion, especially if they and the trustworthiness and merit of tweeted information are
contain misinformation or unknowing sources. Therefore, it determined when the source credibility is taken into account.
is important to identify how users are evaluating Facebook's Also, the more explicit author information available on Twitter
credibility when tackling political topics and discussions. leads users to be more trusting [18]. FB source can post text,
video, a picture, or avatar of the poster/sender and their name.
While there were rare studies about media credibility in Arab
As the post includes comments, likes, and shares they will be
world including Egypt, some of them have focused on the
sources of a new information set. This property to connect users
relationship between the viewership or listening to regional or
to one another via FB gives the opportunity to determine the
international media such as Radio and Television and public trust
credibility of information and undermine traditional authorities.
in the information provided by this kind of media [5,6] and another
study has focused on the comparison of public assessment of Overall, FB source credibility can be considered in two main
credibility in television, radio, newspapers, and Internet including perspectives. The first is related to information and news from
online newspapers and social media [7]. Hence, the current news organizations or official organizations that are posted or
study attempts to explore the public assessment of FB credibility, shared via FB. The prevailing with regard to social media is that
which has become the most widely used in Egypt through which users tend to trust organizations when they perceive a greater level
political information is circulated. Also, while previous research of interactivity in social media [19]. A previous study has shown that
concerned the study of the credibility of social media and blogs or peripheral characteristics of FB news posts may not necessarily serve
the impact of their usage on the political awareness and political as strong credibility cues but participants rated higher the credibility
participation, the question as to what factors influence the FB of a journalist vs. that of the news brand or the expertise cue [20]
credibility when related to political arena still remains unclear. while another study found that two-fifths of social networking users
Therefore, the current study is not only aimed at exploring receive news from people they follow on services like FB and a fifth
elements of FB credibility but testing the factors predicting it get news from news organizations and individual journalists they
including political elements. follow [21]. The other perspective is related to the user-generated
content that the user is the source of the message. This kind of
Literature Review sources is viewed with skepticism because sometimes readers do
Through many mass communication research to study the not consider it as a reliable source of information [10] but there are
credibility of different types of media (audio, video, print and some factors elaborate the user to be a more credible source when
electronic), some define credibility that "it refers to the objective he is perceived to have too many friends [22] or when his posts get
and subjective components of the believability of a source or more likes, shares, and comments [20].
message" [8] (pg: 156). The credibility of social media is more
complex when compared to that of traditional media. This is due
Medium Credibility
to the information revolution and the flow of news on social media This dimension refers to the assessment of credibility that users
and new media platforms faster and diversifying their sources, have of FB as one of the social media sites. It is worthwhile to
which creates a state of uncertainty about this engagement and differentiate between the user who posts or shares the content
confusion about the adoption of the credibility of that flood of and FB as a medium. In addition, the impact of FB messages will
information besides casting doubt on them. depend on it as a medium because when individuals have more
experience with gaining knowledge through FB, they will develop
Under previous research on the credibility of old and new media,
more trust in the medium [23] (pg: 43).
I can discuss FB credibility in three dimensions: source, medium,
and content/ message credibility [9-12]. It should not be limited to measure social media credibility on their
design features because FB pages have almost the same layouts.
Source Credibility Lee and Ahn [24] indicated that when users get the gratification
The traditional evaluations of source credibility when, for example, of using FB as a new medium they will asses it more credible.
are related to representatives of the government or to expertise Then, credibility judgments will be based on user's perception of
would be believed to provide reliable information especially FB itself such as authenticity, timeliness, and popularity [25] or
the judgments grounded on medium dependency, interactivity,
when there is a limited number of sources accompanied by the
and medium transparency [10]. In addition, FB affords some
presence of gatekeepers who filter much of information and have
direct application of credibility due to the self-selective nature
the incentive to uphold credibility standards [13]. The dependency
because users of the platform only get content from self-selected
of traditional media to authorities or other institutions as sources
sources or those selected by algorithms to match their self-
of information and news leads to the adoption of classical idea
selected preferences [20] (pg: 6).
associated with the criterion of credibility when followed by the
scarcity of information. In the social media environment, there FB as a medium to promote a specific social cause was tested
is an independence of the source which is often the user himself in the study by Lee and Ahn [24] who found that when students
who takes an individual behavior of posting and sharing of trusted FB, they were more likely to participate in the binge
information. In addition, the source’s perceived communication drinking prevention FB page.
characteristics such as competence, credibility, and attractiveness
can be made by the users themselves [14]. As in Twitter, for Content Credibility
instance, the source is the person who posts the content [15-17] This dimension states the perceived credibility of the loaded

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message on the FB platform. Messages via FB are often repeated Dependent variable
by multiple sources (reposting or resharing), leading to user
confusion about the source of the content. This source confusion The questionnaire measured one main dependent variable
leads users to be unaware of the original source of the information associated with the respondents' assessments of FB credibility:
and highlights the need to examine perceptions of the message Facebook credibility: In this study, I relied on measuring two
credibility, regardless of the source or medium of transmission categories of credibility; FB medium credibility and FB content
[9]. Giving news feeding via social media, Domingo et al., [26] credibility. The source credibility can be reduced and considered
found that because social media feed is a self-curated collection among medium credibility as the study does not deal with specific
of content; the users tend more to engage with information content and issues with certain sources that are evaluated for
when it comes to them via social media. Users' actions of liking or credibility. In addition, Li and Suh [10] (pg: 316) reveal that users
sharing news posts on FB are key indicators of their engagement do not care about "source information credibility when they give
with the content and determining it credible [21,24]. With the a like to a FB page". In other words, the measurements in this
tremendous accumulation of information generated by users [27] study do not deal with comments, likes, and shares of users to
it is important to know how readers assess FB content that Keib evaluate their assessments of the sources. Based on the previous
and Wojdynski [20] found that "users' willingness to like, share or studies [7,10,19,25,29-33] I measured respondents' evaluating
click through to a story are critical actions to the person or brand of 16 attributes of FB credibility which were categorized in two
who posted the content" (pg: 16). theoretical dimensions:
FB lacks quality assurance mechanisms and offers unfiltered • Facebook medium credibility, and
information with different levels of quality as a result of the
existence of diverse and open sources [28], Some previous • Facebook content credibility,
studies have explored factors influencing FB content credibility, Modifying the measurements and attributes to be relevant to this
for example, Li and Suh [10], found that interactivity, medium platform as follows:
dependency, and argument strength were the main dimensions
Facebook medium credibility: Six items were sited to express
of information credibility via FB. Another study in advertising on
this variable including; knowledgeable, influential, passionate,
FB found that interactivity, advertising avoidance, and privacy
independent, transparent, and reliable.
were the key factors which influenced consumers’ attitudes
towards advertising on FB, while credibility was not a significant Facebook content credibility: Ten items were sited to express
factor predicting consumer’ attitudes towards advertising on FB this variable including; authentic, insightful, informative, fair,
[8]. focused, accurate, timely, popular, In-depth and consistent.

Methodology and Hypotheses All of the sixteen items of both medium and content credibility
were measured on a five-point scale: never=1, little=2,
A survey method was conducted to collect data within a sometimes=3, much=4, and all the time=5. And an exploratory
questionnaire on a sample of adults in Egypt. The questionnaire factor analysis was conducted to extract the types of FB credibility.
was evaluated by academics in the Egyptian universities' media
departments to measure its validity and then improve its Independent variables
structure and content. The questionnaire contained levels of predictors as shown in the
Sample: The interviews were conducted during October 2018 following section:
with 590 adults (18 years of age and older) who lived in Egypt and Facebook political content usage: Respondents were asked two
who used the Facebook platform. A simple random sample was questions about the degree of their interest and use of political
used on the basis that each of the members of the community content in FB:
was given an equal opportunity to be selected within the
sample. Trained interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews • The number of days to access per week. The answers ranged
in two different geographical areas in Egypt; Greater Cairo from every day, 4-6 days per week, 1-3 days per week to whenever
which represents urban regions as it is the capital of Egypt and the time is available.
embraces three big governorates (Cairo, Giza, and Qaliubiya), • The number of hours it takes to use political content per day.
and Damietta which represents a regional governorate and it also The answers ranged from 4 hours or more per day, 2-3 hours, 1-2
includes rural areas. Differences in socioeconomic status among hours, to one hour or less per day.
the respondents were considered by conducting the interviews
Answers of the two questions were grouped in four levels to
in three levels of neighborhoods in each governorate. All non-
estimate the extent of political content usage; low=1, middle=2,
users, refusals, incomplete answers, partial answers, and missing
high=3, and very high=4 (M=3.66, SD=1.07).
answers were excluded to get the final sample which had 590
complete answers (See demographic variables). Hypothesis 1: The credibility of Facebook will be significantly
predicted by users' usage of political content.
Variables and Measurements Facebook political content dependency: Based on "media
The questionnaire items included dependent and independent dependency theory", individuals have oriented goals which are
variables as follows: conditional upon the resources media afford [34] and may form
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dependencies with the media as a means of achieving these goals The responses were scaled: yes=1, never=0. These items were
[35]. Hence, it is vital to raise the value of trust in the media calculated (M= 1.32, SD=1.45).
especially when people have no alternative sources to mass
Online political participation: In the era of "digital democracy"
media. This trust will lead the audience to be more dependent on
previous studies debated that the Web has opened space for
the media [36-38]. With regard to those variables of the theory,
political reengagement presenting a potentially more equalitarian
the users' perception of FB as an exclusive information system
chance and the use of Internet has increased by users to convey
will influence their considering FB as more dependent on them
political messages and express their political views [48-51]. In
[39].
addition, The Internet lowers the costs of participating given that
The users were asked about how much they rely on FB if they want many of the participatory activities undertaken via the Internet-
to get information on important political issues. This item was forwarding emails, watching campaign videos- are low-intensity
measured on a five-point scale: never=1, little=2, sometimes=3, activities [52] (pg: 10). Such online political activities were
much=4, and all the time=5 (M=3.66, SD=1.43). measured in the current study through seven items;
Hypothesis 2: The credibility of Facebook will be significantly • Sending a political message by e-mail,
predicted by users' reliance on it for political information seeking.
• Commenting on political issues published on newspaper
Political participation: Political participation was defined as websites,
"activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government
• Launching a political or social campaign on the Internet,
action– either directly by affecting the making of implementation
of public policy or indirectly by influencing the people's selection • Launching or participating in Hashtag on the Internet,
of those policies" [40]. Some of the previous studies had linked
• Communicating with a politician or an official on the Internet,
between political participation as dependent variable predicted
by traditional media use [41,42], and by internet and blogs use [43- • Advertising for a political candidate through the Internet,
46]. Also, a study by Lane et al. [47] tested the effects of specific • Forming or participating in a group on social media to call for
motivations for using social media (i.e., political engagement, an action or take a certain position. The responses were scaled:
relationship maintenance, and self-promotion) on users' sharing yes=1, never=0. These items were calculated (M=2.14, SD=2.01).
of political information when engaged in conversations involving
political disagreement. All these studies did not indicate evidence Hypothesis 3: The credibility of Facebook will be significantly
about political participation as an independent variable to predicted by users' political participation.
alternatively predict media effects. But in this study, I'll try to test Interactivity with political topics on FB: One of the interactive
it as an independent variable to predict some of FB properties capacities of FB is its ability to attract users to use text, images,
such as its credibility and political contributions. videos, and links as interactive content [8] (pg: 155) and since
The questionnaire included eighteen phrases representing offline content such as newspapers, television, and radio are
activities which respondents answered if they did or engaged in different than online content which would include social media
during the past twelve months. The items were classified into two like FB, it is needed to analyze how users' interactivity with political
categories: content will influence their attitudes towards FB credibility. This
variable was measured through five items to which respondents
Offline political participation: This variable included conventional were exposed in order to determine how they were participating,
and unconventional political activities that the respondents may sharing and interacting with political topics via FB platform: "I
have been engaged in throughout the past year. They answered usually post my views and thoughts about political issues", "I'm
eleven questions about interested in sharing political materials on FB", "I comment on
1. Attending political, cultural or social seminars or discussions, posts bearing political topics", "I'm interested in replying or
reacting on comments about political topics", and "I participate
2. Participation in city, district or county council activities, in or create Hashtags and pages on FB related to political issues".
3. Communicating with a local official or a member of parliament, For each item, the response options were measured on a five-
4. Participation in the political marketing of a candidate, point scale that included: never=1, few=2, on average=3, very
often=4, and always=5. The total scores of the five terms were
5. Talking to an official about a community matter, calculated (M=14.8, SD=4.34).
6. Attending a political meeting either with a party or with a Hypothesis 4: The credibility of Facebook will be significantly
candidate for elections, predicted by users' interactivity with political content.
7. Participating in demonstrations or sit-ins, Facebook efficacy: Previous studies related to media efficacy had
focused on individuals' perceptions of how much traditional and
8. Voting in parliamentary or political elections,
online news media help them to understand and solve complex
9. Contacting one of the media institutions, issues [53-55]. A recent study by Hocevar, Flanagin and Metzger
[56] measured the efficacy of social media and its relationship
10. Participation with a group with political or social activity,
to the trustworthy of information shared via them. Politically,
11. Participation in political clubs or party committees. Facebook efficacy refers to the extent to which users perceive FB

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content to be helpful to understand political issues and to solve Hypothesis 6: The credibility of Facebook will be significantly
problems related to complex political topics and social affairs. predicted by users' believe in its political contributions.
Guided by previous research [57], respondents evaluated the Demographic variables: The study used four independent
usefulness of four types of actions through four items: "FB can demographic variables: age, measured with a four-group scale;
highlight an issue to attract more attention to it", "Through FB, 18-29=1, 3-less than 40=2, 40-less than 50=3, and 50 years old
complaints can be presented and communicated to the relevant and above=4 (M=1.80, SD=.91); gender, male coded=1; female
officials or authorities", "FB helps solve many common problems coded=0 (M=.36, SD=.48); education level, measured with a
and issues", and "FB can be used to advertise or market an idea four-point scale; less than high school=1, high school or some
or topic". The items were measured on a five-point scale: never college=2, college degree=3, postgraduate, master or PhD
useful=1, little=2, sometimes=3, much=4, and useful all the degree=4 (M=2.78, SD=.61); and income, measured with a six-
time=5 (M=14.44, SD=2.95). point scale; less than 2000 Egyptian Pounds=1, 2000- less than
4000 EGP=2, 4000- less than 6000 EGP=3, 6000- less than 8000
Hypothesis 5: The extent of perceived Facebook efficacy by users
EGP=4, 8000-less than 10000 EGP=5, and 10000 Pounds or more
will significantly predict the credibility of this platform.
=6 (M=2.62, SD=1.44).
Political contributions of Facebook: Previous studies [58,59]
Hypothesis 7: The credibility of Facebook will be significantly
showed that social media played a key role in the Egyptian
predicted by users' demographic variables (age, gender,
uprisings of January and February 2011, and Abdulla [58] revealed
education, and income).
that "this platform has provided new avenues for expressing
critical views, challenging established media entities, and Statistical treatments: The exploratory factor analysis was
organizing against the government" (pg: 1). Since the revolution, conducted with the use of principal components procedure on
the Egyptian use of social networking has increased. Gad [60] (pg: factors selected for having an Eigenvalue of greater than 1 for
6) reveals that: extraction and the Varimax method of rotation with suppressing
the absolute values less than .60, and all reliability measures
Egyptians used Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to send millions
were 0.7 or higher. To test the hypotheses, the study conducted
of internet links, news, articles, videos, and free campaigns to
a linear regression analysis by using "Enter Model" to test how
people all over the world and news quickly spread because Twitter
all kinds of FB credibility were regressed on the independent
allowed Egyptians to upload information in as it happened and
predictors.
write comments about their government. Social media allowed
the free speech that wasn’t allowed by the government.
Results of Factor Analysis on FB
These roles played by social media for political mobility and
democracy in Egypt are not always seen as the prevailing situation
Credibility
as there are many negatives and concerns associated with their The analysis explored the following factors:
contributions to the political process, such as increased political As shown in Table 1, four factors of FB credibility were extracted
tension, the spread of hate speech, incitement, distorting the through exploratory factor analysis and they all altogether
reputation of others and the spread of anonymous rumors. explained 67.14% of the total variance. The four factors were
The questionnaire included ten items about the respondents' built through 12 qualities of credibility for Facebook. Four
views of how FB contributed to the political sphere in Egypt. Six qualities were removed because of their low loading values;
items were related to positive contributions; "FB has contributed "FB provides insightful opinions and views", "FB highlights
to marketing politicians for their programs and activities", "FB has negative and positive aspects of society without prejudice",
contributed to the formation of public opinion towards political "FB is characterized by the depth of its handling of subjects and
and social issues and events", "FB has contributed to clarifying provision of sufficient evidence" and "FB contributes to reaching
the actual reality of political and social issues", "FB has provided a consensus opinion or trend representing the general majority".
opportunities for interaction with politicians and candidates", The loading factors were:
"FB has contributed to the creation of a public political sphere • Timeliness (M=15.21, SD=2.999) was loaded with four qualities
that promotes democratic practice", and "FB has provided of FB content credibility which express how this content is timing
opportunities for oversight of the performance of government, in and keeping path with the latest events and social activities.
politicians and political elites". These items were measured on
a five-point scale: never=1, little=2, sometimes=3, much=4, and • Transparency (M=11.63, SD=3.45) was loaded with mixed four
all the time=5 to express the positive political contributions qualities, two of them represent FB credibility as a medium; "FB
(M=20.97, SD=5.34). is transparent and includes all opinions in addressing issues and
events" and "FB is trustworthy and reliable", while the others
The other four items were related to negative contributions; represent FB content credibility; "FB content conveys the true
"FB is concerned only with controversial matters and increases picture of issues and events" and " The content of FB is usually
conflict between users", "FB has increased the conflict between accurate". This factor reveals that users acknowledge Facebook's
political parties and political forces", "FB has contributed to the limpidity as a platform as they see it in its content.
increase of political tension in the country", and "FB has played
a role in promoting rumors and discrediting others". and were • Social Impact (M=12.31, SD=1.97) was loaded with three
reversed in the same scale (M=10.07, SD=3.349). qualities of FB credibility as a medium that show how FB affects
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the community when users believe in its ability to create empathy selective nature [20]. All these factors were related to Egyptian
for issues as well as an important source of information. users' evaluation of Facebook as an independent medium in its
content and sources (Table 2).
• Independency (M=3.17, SD=1.24) was loaded with one quality
which distinguishes FB as an independent médium (Table 1). In the second hypothesis, users' reliance on FB for using and
seeking political content positively predicted only their assessment
Testing Hypotheses and Discussions
of Facebook's social impact in society. Therefore, Egyptian users
As shown in Table 2, there is some support to the first and who rely on FB for political content are likely to consider it a more
second hypotheses by indicating positive regressed correlations. credible source than other media and non-media sources. This
For the first hypothesis, Egyptian users' perception of FB as an finding is consistent with the findings of the study by Johnson
independent medium was positively predicted by the extent of and Kaye [31] who found that "the more politically interested
their political usage of FB. This result is consistent with what users rely on social network sites for political information the
Johnson and Kaye [31] has produced that the greater the public's more likely they are to deem these venues as credible" (pg: 965).
use of a medium, the more credible they are to judge it. Since Whereas the peer review process can lead to an increase in the
FB became a new medium which creates aspirations for more medium credibility [31], FB users will rely more on the political
using, the users will apply the credibility of that medium [10] and content than other traditional and online media because it allows
because FB is characterized as independent of official and non- them to read and write in-depth and transparent messages [61].
official authorities and as independent of the media controlled Such transparency which was perceived by the reliance on the FB
by corporates and authorities, it provides more credibility to political content would become effective in integrating Egyptian
the political information that is sought and shared by users. The users with either the content or with each other to reflect the
features of the FB platform allow users to choose the content they effectiveness and the influential role of FB on individuals and
receive from friends or sources that they have already identified communities when arising the debate on political issues. From
to match their self-selected preferences, therefore, this platform the functional alternative paradigm which was confirmed in
is characterized by a high degree of credibility due to this self- previous studies [62-64], my findings reveal that Facebook

Table 1. Factor loading for Facebook credibility.

Factors Descriptive Mean SD Factors loading
1 2 3 4
F1: Timeliness
FB content is always provided with the latest news 3.99 0.86 0.696 0.242 0.274 -0.031
and events
The content of FB always keeps pace with important 3.88 0.936 0.728 0.195 0.322 0.097
events
FB content takes an interest in mainstream issues and 3.8 0.916 0.805 0.217 0.078 0.091
public opinion
The content of FB is very much related to the general 3.54 0.949 0.719 0.052 0.27 0.07
culture of society
F2: Transparency
FB is transparent and includes all opinions in 3.04 1.06 0.232 0.688 0.118 0.345
addressing issues and events
FB content conveys the true picture of issues and 3 1.004 0.323 0.738 0.279 0.086
events
The content of FB is usually accurate 2.94 1.018 0.268 0.756 0.135 -0.028
FB is trustworthy and reliable 2.66 1.023 0.016 0.888 0.122 0.124
F3: Social Impact
FB has an influential role in individuals and 4.13 0.795 0.252 0.102 0.825 0.163
communities
FB has the ability to create empathy with different 4.13 0.794 0.321 0.069 0.686 0.179
issues and events
FB is characterized as a broad source of information 4.05 0.851 0.044 0.313 0.742 -0.379
and knowledge
F4: Independency
FB is independent and not subject to the control of 3.17 1.243 0.076 0.228 0.11 0.87
the Authority
Eigenvalue     6.816 1.64 1.209 1.076
% of variance explained     42.602 10.25 7.557 6.726
Cronbach’s Alpha (Reliability scores)     0.836 0.861 0.732 ----
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy     0.882

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Table 2. OLS Regression Analysis Results Examining Predictors of FB Credibility.

Predictors Credibility factors
Timeliness Transparency Social Impact Independency
Beta t-score Beta t-score Beta t-score Beta t-score
FB political content usage 0.046 1.217 -0.014 -0.382 -0.046 -1.22 0.127 2.90**
FB political content dependency 0.015 0.415 0.062 1.66 0.091 2.41* 0.065 1.493
Political participations  
Online participation -.004- -0.087 -0.074 -1.7 0.046 1.06 0.209 3.93***
Offline Participation -0.058 -1.28 0.022 0.481 -0.053 -1.16 -0.002 -0.039
FB interactivity 0.173 4.06*** 0.217 5.04*** 0.205 4.74*** 0.151 3.01**
FB efficacy 281 6.74*** 0.161 3.83*** 0.455 10.74*** 0.049 1.01
Political contributions  
Positive contributions 0.316 7.61*** 0.419 9.99*** 0.076 2.03* 0.238 4.90***
Negative contributions 0.028 0.838 0.052 1.56 0.004 0.129 0.074 1.909
Demographic variables  
Age -0.058 -1.54 0.063 1.67 0.044 1.15 0.127 2.90**
Gender (male) -0.068 -1.85 -0.006 -0.164 -0.078 -2.08* 0.003 0.076
Education     -0.01 -0.293 -0.03 -0.837 0.009 0.232
Income 0.099 2.71** 0.035 0.945 0.027 0.728 -0.147 -3.44***
R 0.634   0.626   0.619   0.422  
R square 0.402   0.392   0.384   0.178  
Adjusted R square 0.39   0.38   0.371   0.161  
F change 32.35***   31.06***   29.94***   10.44***  
Degrees of freedom=12, *p ≤ .05, **p ≤ .01, ***p ≤.001., N=590  

platform can displace other traditional and new media to satisfy FB. These correlations mean that the high level of interactivity
Egyptian users' needs to political content when they consider it and efficiency of FB users leads them to further embrace the
more credible and influential in society. credibility of FB as both a medium and its content.
With regard to the third hypothesis, there was no support for Regarding interactivity with political content, previous studies
offline respondents' political participation to predict FB credibility. have shown that users of social media tend to trust information
Only online political participation have predicted the perception on these tools when they are at higher levels of interactivity
of FB as an independent medium. This finding is not consistent [10,61]. Since FB is characterized as a social platform which
with previous studies who found that users who consider social depends on the use of smart technology devices, it allows users
media as a credible source of political news are those who to share and interact with topics and events and participate in the
engage in offline political activities such as participating in or discussion and modify the content that users create [71] where
interesting in an election campaign, voting, performing civic they became producers and consumers of political content [72]
duties, and volunteering behavior [65-69]. But my finding can to create what Bruns [73] terms "produsage" that there are no
be foreseen by what the Internet and social media, in particular, boundaries between producer (sender) and consumer (receiver)
have made available of "digital democracy" that the space has because users create the content for each other. In addition,
become more open to users to reintegrate politically [48,51] and while FB users are always looking to ensure the delivery of their
technologically participate and engage in public affairs if they are messages to others and have an impact on humanitarian causes
aware of the independence of their new medium. This sense of including political debates [74], all these effects are conditional
independence of the FB platform generates what Yilmaz [70] has on the achievement of an appropriate amount of credibility both
acknowledged as "the optimistic viewpoint" that the Internet has for the political content and the source.
given way to mass mobilization with low cost leading to more
Regarding FB efficacy, my findings are compatible with the study
levels of political participation. Through Facebook, Egyptian
by Hocevar, et al. [57] who found that the shared content of social
users could present their ideas without any restrictions from the
media was assessed to be more trustworthy by users with higher
ruling authority that there is no kind of privilege and monopoly of
social media self-efficacy than those with a lower level. In the
some people, groups, and dominant ideological and intellectual
current study, Egyptian users with a higher rating for the efficacy
tendencies.
of FB will consider uploaded political information and opinions
Table 2 shows full support to the fourth hypothesis that on this platform more credible and thus are more vulnerable to
interactivity with political content predicted the four types of what others publish via FB. Such consumption of the political
credibility and considerable support to the fifth hypothesis content via FB may provide users with new information or
which produced a positive regressed relationship between views on political affairs so as to support and market attitudes,
respondents' perception of Facebook efficacy and their reinforce current values, or perhaps ignore information that
assessments of all timeliness, transparency, and social impact of conflicts with their political views [65,72,75]. Some studies have
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suggested that the users can better recall the content of the can be clarified with my viewpoint that users with fewer income
website when it is considered to be more credible than others levels feel the traditional media are not achieving their interests
[76] that their impression about that medium will, in turn, affect and priorities because they are not independent of government,
their cognitive processing of the content [48]. Therefore, users' political or economic control, therefore, they do not trust them
awareness of the adequacy of FB in explaining and simplifying and consider alternative media, such as social media, as more
complex political issues is crucial to understanding the positive independent and remote from those types of control.
relationship between FB efficacy and its credibility.
There was full support to the sixth hypothesis with significant
Conclusion
positive regressed relations between users' believe in the positive This study relied on a survey on a sample of Egyptian adults
role of FB in political contributions and the four categories of FB of FB users to examine the political and non-political factors
credibility. These positive relationships denied the existence of which predict FB credibility. The study extends the findings
a relationship between users' perception of the negative role of of previous research on the credibility of social networks sites
FB in political contributions and FB credibility as shown in Table and FB in particular. Exploratory factor analysis extracted four
2. The positive political role of FB from Egyptian users' views factors (timeliness, transparency, social impact, independency)
reflects their belief in the availability of this platform to introduce reducting 16 qualities related to FB credibility. As predicted,
democratic communication between them by turning it into an some of these four factors were predicted by various variables.
arena for free expression of all opinions and trends and to allow Although some predictors such as the use of political content, the
the public to express their views on the intellectual and political dependency on FB for gathering and using political information,
projects, and to express their problems online. and users' online political participation were predicting some
of the credibility factors, the effects have grown with other
There was some support to the seventh hypothesis with achieving
three indicators: users' interaction with political content, their
some regressed relations between demographic variables of the
appreciation of FB efficacy, and their assessment of Facebook's
respondents and some kinds of FB credibility as shown in Table 2.
positive contribution to the political life in Egypt.
Older respondents considered FB to be more independent than
the younger ones. This result may be due to the fact that younger These high evaluations of Egyptian users for the credibility
users rarely verify information [56] while older users tend to of Facebook based on those last three factors illuminate that
express their opinions and trends or share posts about various Facebook has become a major determinant of what formats public
issues, believing that FB is a suitable platform for such media opinion in Egypt, and provides users with a lot of information
practices and its sources are independent of media institutions. through which they get acquainted with public affairs and the
Although previous studies have shown that younger users rely knowledge of political figures as well as its role in public debates
more on the Internet and social media to obtain information on and the electoral process as a whole. Through this platform, the
public affairs and political campaigns [77,78], the result of the political truth is built with the participation of users who have
current study indicates that there is an increase in FB usage and roles in controlling the content.
its political content among older Egyptian users. Facebook credibility has been proven by some demographic
Females were more assessing the social impact of FB than males. variables of Egyptian users. These influential relationships
This result is due to the fact that females tend to use social media confirm the diversity of user adoption models for Facebook's
more than males for social activities such as communication, credibility, which reveals the increasing importance of political
posting, sharing photos and information [79,80], and engaging message producers and organizers of the political campaign
in the interpersonal discussion online [81] and they tend to more taking into account the individual, social and physical differences
social activities with the aim of expressing them on social media among users.
[82,83]. Doing such activities stems from the appreciation of the
social effectiveness of Facebook by female users who believe Limitations and Recommendations for
in the role of this platform in creating friends' interaction and
sympathy towards the political content they publish.
Future Research
The study showed that the Facebook platform is capable of
The timeliness of FB was adopted more by respondents with mobilizing Egyptian users for electronic political participation
lower educational level than the highest ones. Shariff et al. [18] which is manifested in the broadening of the expression of their
explain this result that the more educated respondents may
political views and beliefs, participation in political and social
have a higher level of experience that enables them to be more
activities and joining electronic campaigns. The fact that Egyptians
careful in making credibility judgments. As the current study
have accounts and opportunities to participate in groups formed
shows, the most educated users have been appreciative of
through Facebook has opened the door to political practice in
Facebook's credibility based on timeliness attribution of content
cyberspace. This means that the political aspect has become a
which requires users to be more sensitive to this content and
fundamental variable for the practices of Egyptian users via
its requirements to keep up with the issues, ideas, and general
FB, which contributed to the oscillation of political interactions
culture prevailing in society. The same positive relationship
between the virtual and the real world.
was found by users with the higher income who also rated the
timeliness of FB more than the highest level but they evaluated FB The independency of FB which was assessed by users highlights
less independent than users with lower income. This last finding the need for further exploration of the credibility of the source,

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particularly as it relates to specific issues and topics raised on creation of content that audiences feel is credible, reliable and
this platform. This also extends to measuring the credibility useful to them.
of the groups' creators that mobilize users to engage in and Future research can be geared toward studying the effects of
investigating how groups' sources are managing the campaigns FB users and groups on the political and social agenda of the
they launch and how users engage and respond to them as a government by imposing specific events and issues that may be
predictor of these sources credibility. As the independency of marginalized or beyond the authorities' concerns. Social media
the media is closely related to democracy and its principles, the have become platforms that are free to convey information,
transition of this independency to FB guarantees the freedom of interact with issues and events and thus have the ability to
opinion and expression at this platform to achieve a real role for influence decision-makers.
the performance of its social functions, including self-censorship
of the society, representation of all communities and non- There are some political variables needed to be discovered in
alignment of other communities. All these factors help Facebook Egypt and Arab world such as partisan and political affiliation,
political information, political interest, and political efficacy to
users to participate effectively in public life.
test their relationships with political use of social media.
The results provide an instructive field for politicians, political
As a result of the current work, Facebook poses on Arab
candidates, and political campaigners when using social media, governments with a great challenge to develop their media, free
especially FB to introduce themselves to the masses. They must it from the rigid language and gain more credibility and free it
build a sufficient amount of interactivity with users to ensure that from excessive publicity. With alternatives such as Facebook,
they are attracted to what is being disseminated in this platform governments will not only find themselves isolated from the
and to learn about the reaction feedback of the masses towards media, but they may find themselves the target of attacks that
those campaigns and content. This interactivity also requires the may come from good intentions and national motives.

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