Anais
Resumo do trabalho
Marketing · Redes Sociais Mediadas, Ambientes e Dispositivos Digitais
Título
HOW FAKE NEWS AFFECTS BRAND ASSOCIATIONS AND CORPORATE REPUTATION: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY FROM THE BRAZILIAN MARKET
Palavras-chave
Brand perception
fake news
sentiment analysis
Autores
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Bruno PeresFaculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo - FEA
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Edson CrescitelliFaculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo - FEA
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Iná Futino BarretoCENTRO UNIVERSITÁRIO ÁLVARES PENTEADO (FECAP)
Resumo
Introdução
The spread of misinformation has accelerated through digital platforms and social media, where individuals act as content creators. False information circulates faster than verified facts (Vosoughi et al., 2018a), threatening institutions and brand perception. Defined as misleading content meant to deceive, disinformation compromises cognitive and emotional evaluations of brands, especially in online contexts, impacting corporate reputation in nuanced ways.
Problema de Pesquisa e Objetivo
Although prior research has addressed the effects of misinformation on brand discourse, few studies examine its direct impact on sentiment and brand perception. Given this context, the research question guiding this study is: How does exposure to misinformation influence user sentiment and brand perception on social media platforms? The objective is to analyze the reputational effects of fake news by measuring changes in sentiment polarity before and after exposure on X (former Twitter).
Fundamentação Teórica
Brand associations are built through consumer memory and digital interactions (Aaker, 1996; Keller, 1993). Misinformation disrupts this by manipulating perceptions via bots and viral mechanisms. Prior studies show increased negative sentiment linked to fake news, but empirical research connecting misinformation to shifts in sentiment and corporate reputation remains limited, especially in platform-centric contexts.
Metodologia
This quantitative study used sentiment analysis of tweets mentioning brands affected by disinformatio, and, 230.569 tweets were collected involving four retail companies: Skol, AMBEV, McDonald’s and Coke, 30 days before and after misinformation events verified by fact-checking agencies. The VADER lexicon-based method was applied to classify sentiment polarity. Results were examined using Statistical Process Control to detect variations in negative sentiment patterns.
Análise dos Resultados
The findings show peaks in negative sentiment after the missemination of fake news. Brands with strategic counter-information actions experienced stabilization in public discourse. Control charts indicated statistically significant outliers in some cases. The results confirm that disinformation alters brand perception by influencing consumer sentiment on social media.
Conclusão
Misinformation impacts user sentiment and corporate reputation, especially in emerging markets like Brazil. The study confirms that brand perception is affected by fake news, and that sentiment analysis can detect reputational shifts. Strategic brand responses help mitigate reputational damage. The results reinforce the need for monitoring and crisis management in digital environments.
Contribuição / Impacto
This research advances the understanding of how reputational narratives are shaped by misinformation. It provides empirical evidence for sentiment as a mediating factor in brand perception. The study contributes to brand equity and crisis communication literature and offers strategic insights for communication professionals operating in high-exposure digital markets.
Referências Bibliográficas
Aaker (1996); Keller (1993); Yoo et al. (2000); Borges-Tiago et al. (2020); Liu (2019); Santini et al. (2020); Tuten & Perotti (2019); Wardle & Derakhshan (2017); Vosoughi et al. (2018); Kim & Lim (2021); Hasan et al. (2018); Anderson et al. (2019); Stewart & Arnold (2018); Newman et al. (2020); Dutta & Pullig (2011); Montgomery (2009); Ram et al. (2024).