The benefits of social media have become particularly evident during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its pandemic restrictions ( Sheth, 2020), as social media is the predominant method of maintaining personal connections ( Liu et al., 2021) and accessing information ( Laato et al., 2020b). A quick and cost-efficient tool for sharing news and updates with a large audience ( Henning-Thurau et al., 2010), it has drastically transformed how information is exchanged and assimilated among consumers ( Naeem, 2021). Social media has become one of the defining technologies of our time ( Appel et al., 2020). Measures should be taken to enhance consumers’ resilience amidst technology-induced stressors while altering the information environment confronting consumers. The results have important implications extending beyond crises. Furthermore, the study shows that consumers' resilience has the power to mitigate the drastic effects of this negative chain of influence by inhibiting each of the processual components. Drawing from theories of transactional stress and psychological resilience, it is demonstrated that information overload leads to an increased likelihood of fake news sharing by increasing consumers' psychological strain. Structural equation modelling is applied to cross-sectional data from 241 social media users. Given that current research offers little insight into the processes behind the sharing of fake news among consumers and that research on consumer-centred mitigating mechanisms is missing, this study explores the relationship between information overload, fake news sharing, and the overlooked concept of consumers' resilience as a potential shield as viewed through the lens of the current crisis. In fact, driven by the ubiquitous social media landscape, the dissemination of misinformation and the overarching overabundance of information have been major challenges of the pandemic. The current COVID-19 crisis has added to the surrounding hysteria, as fake news during crises can heighten negative behavioural responses in consumers, such as irrational panic buying or taking false medical precautionary measures. The spread of fake news in social networks has become a major concern for various sectors of society, including retail and service providers, some of whom have suffered from decreasing sales due to misinformation consumers shared online.
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