Ninth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

This research investigates the factors that might predict the news-sharing tendency among youth in the United Arab Emirates. In this study, three variables are examined about news-sharing behavior: news credibility, fact-checking, and commentary on social media (SM) news posts. Using a convenience sample of 324 Arabs (Emiratis and Expats), results show no significant differences between Emiratis and other Arab nationalities in news sharing, commentary news sharing, and news credibility-checking. There is a significant difference between Emiratis and Arab ex-pats in news-sharing patterns and fact-checking abilities. There is a positive significant correlation between fact-checking abilities and news-sharing patterns while the correlation is negative and non-significant with news credibility. Commentary news sharing correlates positively with fact-checking and negatively with news credibility.