A New Study Shows the Thoughts of Consumers When Advertisement of A Brand Is Next To A Piece Of Misinformation

According to a new study conducted by Magna and Zefr, brands should be extra cautious about the platforms they are running their ads because if there's any misinformation on that channel, customers are likely to blame the brand. The IPG Agency, Magna, and the data and technology company, Zefr, collaborated on this study because it was a major concern between brands and customers. Around 93% of consumers are directly exposed to misinformation on different places online. Customers do know that the spread of misinformation is out of anyone's control. Most misinformation is available on social media and right after it, television is the source.

The survey was conducted among the customers and they were asked about who they blamed for misinformation on the social media sites. Most of the people blamed the publishers and platform, and some were brave enough to say that it was the fault of the brands. Many people on the survey agreed that if the misinformation is right next to a brand, many will believe that it is the brand that is supporting that piece of misinformation. It proves that brands aren't cautious enough to look for a good place to advertise their stuff.

Brands are also worried about this problem because the spread of misinformation next to their brand is going on for so long. Nowadays, Twitter is becoming a victim of this after the take of Elon Musk on the app. Many Twitter users fell victim to the impersonators who spread misinformation on Twitter. Recently, many Twitter users believed that free insulin will be available just because an account with a blue tick tweeted this piece of false news.

Many brands are worried that if they advertise themselves on Twitter, there is a high chance that they will fall prey to misinformation. Just during the election in the US, TikTok couldn't catch 90% of the accounts that were spreading misinformation regarding the elections. When users see misinformation next to a brand, 23% of users said that their first instinct isn't to contact the brand and ask them to take some action. 37% said that they completely boycott a brand if they see any misinformation it's spreading because of its advertisements. 31% believe that sharing this to social media as awareness can help a lot of people and that's how some brands can also pay attention to it.

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If a brand is perceiving misinformation, 50% of consumers said that they won't purchase from that brand and 51% said that they would never search for that brand ever. If a brand finds itself next to misinformation, 87% said that they take immediate action. Many consumers are also coming up with ways to prevent misinformation next to brands. 84% of consumers said that brands should do everything in their power to not appear next to a brand and 84% said that brands should have a strict policy. 79% of consumers say that they want the brands to speak up about their thoughts on that piece of misinformation they appear next to.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World