ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Advertising and Marketing Communication
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1600657
THE DIGITAL DE-INFLUENCING WAVE: REDEFINING TRUST IN ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Provisionally accepted
Chaudhry Kashif Mahmood1,2*
Tayyiba Khalil2- 1College of Business Administration, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Damam, Saudi Arabia
- 2College of Business Administration, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This research investigates the emerging role of social media de-influencers and their perceived credibility and authenticity, with a particular focus on their impact on consumer behavior.Utilizing thematic analysis, the research identifies key factors that shape de-influencer credibility, including truthful endorsements, consistent visibility, demonstrated expertise, active engagement, unique perspectives, and sincere communication. Focus group discussions with 59 participants from Pakistan revealed that de-influencers advocate for mindful consumption and ethical practices, offering a counter-narrative to the consumerist culture often promoted by traditional influencers. Grounded in Source Credibility Theory, the findings emphasize the importance of trustworthiness and expertise in building de-influencers' authenticity. The thematic analysis provided a comprehensive understanding of participant perspectives, uncovering nuanced insights into how users critically evaluate de-influencers compared to traditional influencers. This research contributes to the literature by addressing the underexplored phenomenon of de-influencers and highlights their role in promoting sustainable consumer behavior, offering valuable implications for brands and marketers in the evolving landscape of social media.
Keywords: Social Media Influencers, De-Influencers, Authenticity, Mindful consumption, sustainable marketing, Anti-Splurging Behavior
Received: 26 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mahmood and Khalil. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chaudhry Kashif Mahmood, College of Business Administration, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Damam, Saudi Arabia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.