People are persuaded by social media messages, not view numbers

People are more persuaded by the actual messages contained in social media posts than they are by how many others viewed the posts, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when people watched YouTube videos either for or against e-cigarette use, their level of persuasion wasn't directly affected by whether the video said it was viewed by more than a million people versus by fewer than 20.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210511081244.htm