Debunking the corporate paint shop: Examining the effects of misleading corporate social responsibility claims on social media

Britta C. Brugman*, Dian van Huijstee, Ellen Droog

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Misinformation thrives on social media, prompting much research into social media interventions such as debunks. This paper tests debunking’s effectiveness against an understudied but prominent form of online misinformation: misleading organizational claims of corporate social responsibility, or CSR-washing. British participants (N = 657) took part in a preregistered experiment with a 2 (debunk: present, absent) x 3 (CSR-washing: greenwashing, bluewashing, purplewashing) between-subjects design. They saw an Instagram ad from a fictional clothing company that showcased its dedication to environmental sustainability, gender equality in the workplace, or the elimination of child labor. Half of the participants then received a debunk. Unlike most previous research which showed continued influence of misinformation after debunking, we found that the debunks were very effective: they reversed the persuasive effects of CSR-washing, resulting in negative brand attitudes and low purchase intentions. Several explanations for this finding are discussed, highlighting CSR-washing’s distinctiveness from many other forms of misinformation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNew Media and Society
Early online date2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Keywords

  • Bluewashing
  • correction
  • debunk
  • disinformation
  • fact-check
  • greenwashing
  • misinformation
  • purplewashing

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