Checking the facts! exploring social media users' sharing of verified COVID-19 information from the comprehensive action determination model

Sharing verified information on social media is critical to preventing the spread of dangerous misinformation, protecting public health, and promoting informed decision-making during health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to shift the focus from the detrimental impact of social media users in disseminating unverified information during crises to the potential for motivating these same users to counteract the COVID-19 infodemic by sharing verified information. Our research model is grounded in the comprehensive action determination model and tested through survey data from 395 social media users. Our findings suggest that users' verified-information-sharing behavior is influenced by various factors, including attitude, personal norms, social norms, habit, self-efficacy, and perceived threat. Our study highlights the role of social media users in combating the spread of unverified information during health crises and offers significant theoretical and practical implications.