Abstract:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the case and death rates, the unidentified characteristics of the virus, the uncertainty about the treatment and when the pandemic will end, and the concerns about the beginning of new waves have increased the interest in the information flow within the scope of the pandemic in the media. In this process, especially social media has started to fill the gaps in the daily life of individuals more than ever before. Discussions that the news, information, and content spread on social media intensify the fear of COVID-19 have come to the fore. This research focuses on the relationship between trust and verification behaviors in social media and the fear of COVID-19 during the pandemic. The research was conducted with university youth who have a high level of awareness of the digitalization process and participation in social media. The sample of this research, which was designed with a survey design within the scope of the quantitative research method, consists of 757 university students. The data were obtained through an online questionnaire consisting of three parts: the introductory information form, the “Fear of COVID-19 Scale”, the “Trust in Social Media News and User Verification Scale”. As a result of the study, it was determined that the fear of COVID-19 among female students was significantly higher than that of male students. It has been determined that trust in corporate social media posts is a very strong predictor of the total variance of fear of COVID-19. According to the results of the analysis, trust in corporate social media posts explains 86% of fear of COVID-19. In this context, it can be said that trust in corporate social media posts on social risks that concern the public intensifies fear, which is one of the most basic emotions of the individual.

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