Darian Harff
Biographic Data
| ID | 4394153 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Darian Harff |
| GIVEN NAMES | Darian |
| FAMILY NAME | Harff |
| SIGNATURE | HARFF D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Vienna |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4354-2198 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 49 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
“Don’t Buy It!” Influencers’ Negative Product Reviews and Their Effects on Young Adults
On TikTok, ‘deinfluencing’ videos have recently been trending, in which social media influencers (SMIs)—described as regular people who become well-known online figures—advise against buying specific products. However, the effects of this content on young people’s brand- and SMI-related attitudes have so far remained underexplored. Drawing from negativity bias and attribution theory, we addressed this gap in a pre-registered between-subjects expe…
Detection and spill-over effects of AI-generated images in political messages: Evidence from two pre-registered experiments
AI-generated images may not only be used by malicious actors in political communication, but also by (photo)journalists or NGOs who cannot or—for ethical reasons—do not wish to rely on photographs to document political events. Yet, using synthetic visuals can potentially erode message and source trust, and may mislead audiences, especially when disclosures are missing. Addressing these issues, this article reports findings from two pre-registered…
Adolescents’ Trust in Political Content From Influencers: The Roles of Motive Attribution and Parental Mediation
In today’s fragmented media landscape, social media influencers (SMIs) have emerged as popular political information sources among young audiences—despite often lacking political expertise. However, we have limited knowledge about factors that predict trust in SMIs’ political content during early and middle adolescence, a critical period during which political attitudes are formed. This study proposes two novel theoretical pathways to explain var…
Adolescents as Citizen Scientists: Insights Into Their Exposure to Social Media Influencers’ Socio-Political Content
Social media influencers (SMIs) are important information sources for socio-political topics among adolescents. Adolescents may even ascribe digital super peer perceptions to some SMIs for sharing sensitive information (e.g., LGBTQ+ issues, health) that may be unavailable or uncomfortable to discuss among their regular peers. However, it remains unclear which socio-political topics adolescents encounter and which differential susceptibility facto…
The Alternative Truth Kept Hidden From Us: The Effects of Multimodal Disinformation Disseminated by Ordinary Citizens and Alternative Hyper-Partisan Media
The affordances of social media potentially amplify the effects of disinformation by offering the possibility to present deceptive content and sources in credible and native ways. We investigate the effects of two aspects related to the dissemination and modality of digital disinformation: (In)authentic references to the ordinary people as sources of disinformation and the multimodal embedding of deceptive content. Using a pre-registered experime…
Idols Within Reach: Measuring Perceptions of Media Role Models’ Attainability
Media do not only enable social comparison with perfect idols but also with role models who seem “attainable” and thus within reach for youth, which can invoke inspiration. Yet, research lacks a comprehensive validated scale to reliably assess such attainability perceptions. Addressing this research gap, we developed the Perceptions of Media Role Models’ Attainability (PoMRA) scale and two short-form versions of this measure, which we tested and …
Intimate and Opinion-Oriented Communication? Examining Social Media Influencers’ Opinion Leader Potential Through Their Political Content
Revisiting opinion leadership in the digital realm: Social media influencers as proximal mass opinion leaders
Social media influencers (SMIs) are ordinary people who rise to fame via social media. These individuals have repeatedly been labeled as opinion leaders, but often without in-depth theoretical reflection. We fill this gap by introducing a novel typology that allows for greater scrutiny in the identification of different types of opinion leaders in the modern media environment. Using this typology, we adequately capture—for the first time—opinion …
Responses to (Un)healthy advice: Processing and acceptance of health content creators’ nutrition misinformation by youth
Health information, particularly about nutrition, has flourished on social media in recent years. However, these claims often lack proper scrutiny enhancing the risk of misinformation. Nutrition misinformation on social media can originate from various sources including influencers, celebrities, and (freelance) journalists, who often have substantial reach. We conducted a between-subjects experiment, manipulating presence of misinformation and so…
Prevalence, Presentation, and Popularity of Political Topics in Social Media Influencers’ Content Across Two Countries
sponsorship: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|11F6423N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G0B7822N, 2022 AEJMC Emerging Scholars Grant
Popular Among Distrustful Youth? Social Media Influencers’ Communication About Covid-19 and Young People’s Risk Perceptions and Vaccination Intentions
During the COVID-19 crisis, many social media influencers (SMIs) discussed the pandemic on their channels and showcased their behavior in dealing with the virus.Drawing on the two-step flow of communication and social learning theory, we investigated the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of SMIs' COVID-19-related communication in a two-wave panel survey among emerging adults aged 16-21 years (N T1 = 978, N T2 = 415).Our results contribute t…
Who Relies on Social Media Influencers for Political Information? A Cross-Country Study Among Youth
Social media influencers (SMIs) are defined as regular individuals who become well-known via self-branding on social media. Youth use content posted by SMIs not just for entertainment, but also for political information. However, we know little about which groups of young people are most likely to be exposed to their political messages or why some youth seem to favor SMIs’ political information over news content from other sources. Inspired by th…
Influencers as Empowering Agents? Following Political Influencers, Internal Political Efficacy and Participation among Youth
sponsorship: KU Leuven|STG/20/025, LMU Munich|LMU Mentoring Grant
Responses to Social Media Influencers’ Misinformation about Covid-19: A Pre-Registered Multiple-Exposure Experiment
In the current “infodemic,” surrounding the spread of false claims as well as conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, social media influencers, popular figures on platforms like Instagram, are a potential source of misinformation. As seemingly ordinary and trustworthy individuals, who can function as opinion leaders, influencers may impact perceptions of the virus and policies in place to minimize its threat. In this pre-registered online experi…
Influencers as Empowering Agents? Following Political Influencers, Internal Political Efficacy and Participation among Youth
sponsorship: KU Leuven|STG/20/025, LMU Munich|LMU Mentoring Grant
Who Relies on Social Media Influencers for Political Information? A Cross-Country Study Among Youth
Social media influencers (SMIs) are defined as regular individuals who become well-known via self-branding on social media. Youth use content posted by SMIs not just for entertainment, but also for political information. However, we know little about which groups of young people are most likely to be exposed to their political messages or why some youth seem to favor SMIs’ political information over news content from other sources. Inspired by th…
Prevalence, Presentation, and Popularity of Political Topics in Social Media Influencers’ Content Across Two Countries
sponsorship: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|11F6423N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G0B7822N, 2022 AEJMC Emerging Scholars Grant
Revisiting opinion leadership in the digital realm: Social media influencers as proximal mass opinion leaders
Social media influencers (SMIs) are ordinary people who rise to fame via social media. These individuals have repeatedly been labeled as opinion leaders, but often without in-depth theoretical reflection. We fill this gap by introducing a novel typology that allows for greater scrutiny in the identification of different types of opinion leaders in the modern media environment. Using this typology, we adequately capture—for the first time—opinion …
Intimate and Opinion-Oriented Communication? Examining Social Media Influencers’ Opinion Leader Potential Through Their Political Content
Responses to (Un)healthy advice: Processing and acceptance of health content creators’ nutrition misinformation by youth
Health information, particularly about nutrition, has flourished on social media in recent years. However, these claims often lack proper scrutiny enhancing the risk of misinformation. Nutrition misinformation on social media can originate from various sources including influencers, celebrities, and (freelance) journalists, who often have substantial reach. We conducted a between-subjects experiment, manipulating presence of misinformation and so…
Responses to Social Media Influencers’ Misinformation about Covid-19: A Pre-Registered Multiple-Exposure Experiment
In the current “infodemic,” surrounding the spread of false claims as well as conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, social media influencers, popular figures on platforms like Instagram, are a potential source of misinformation. As seemingly ordinary and trustworthy individuals, who can function as opinion leaders, influencers may impact perceptions of the virus and policies in place to minimize its threat. In this pre-registered online experi…
Influencers as Empowering Agents? Following Political Influencers, Internal Political Efficacy and Participation among Youth
sponsorship: KU Leuven|STG/20/025, LMU Munich|LMU Mentoring Grant
Popular Among Distrustful Youth? Social Media Influencers’ Communication About Covid-19 and Young People’s Risk Perceptions and Vaccination Intentions
During the COVID-19 crisis, many social media influencers (SMIs) discussed the pandemic on their channels and showcased their behavior in dealing with the virus.Drawing on the two-step flow of communication and social learning theory, we investigated the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of SMIs' COVID-19-related communication in a two-wave panel survey among emerging adults aged 16-21 years (N T1 = 978, N T2 = 415).Our results contribute t…
Who Relies on Social Media Influencers for Political Information? A Cross-Country Study Among Youth
Social media influencers (SMIs) are defined as regular individuals who become well-known via self-branding on social media. Youth use content posted by SMIs not just for entertainment, but also for political information. However, we know little about which groups of young people are most likely to be exposed to their political messages or why some youth seem to favor SMIs’ political information over news content from other sources. Inspired by th…
The Alternative Truth Kept Hidden From Us: The Effects of Multimodal Disinformation Disseminated by Ordinary Citizens and Alternative Hyper-Partisan Media
The affordances of social media potentially amplify the effects of disinformation by offering the possibility to present deceptive content and sources in credible and native ways. We investigate the effects of two aspects related to the dissemination and modality of digital disinformation: (In)authentic references to the ordinary people as sources of disinformation and the multimodal embedding of deceptive content. Using a pre-registered experime…
Idols Within Reach: Measuring Perceptions of Media Role Models’ Attainability
Media do not only enable social comparison with perfect idols but also with role models who seem “attainable” and thus within reach for youth, which can invoke inspiration. Yet, research lacks a comprehensive validated scale to reliably assess such attainability perceptions. Addressing this research gap, we developed the Perceptions of Media Role Models’ Attainability (PoMRA) scale and two short-form versions of this measure, which we tested and …
Intimate and Opinion-Oriented Communication? Examining Social Media Influencers’ Opinion Leader Potential Through Their Political Content
Revisiting opinion leadership in the digital realm: Social media influencers as proximal mass opinion leaders
Social media influencers (SMIs) are ordinary people who rise to fame via social media. These individuals have repeatedly been labeled as opinion leaders, but often without in-depth theoretical reflection. We fill this gap by introducing a novel typology that allows for greater scrutiny in the identification of different types of opinion leaders in the modern media environment. Using this typology, we adequately capture—for the first time—opinion …
Responses to (Un)healthy advice: Processing and acceptance of health content creators’ nutrition misinformation by youth
Health information, particularly about nutrition, has flourished on social media in recent years. However, these claims often lack proper scrutiny enhancing the risk of misinformation. Nutrition misinformation on social media can originate from various sources including influencers, celebrities, and (freelance) journalists, who often have substantial reach. We conducted a between-subjects experiment, manipulating presence of misinformation and so…
Prevalence, Presentation, and Popularity of Political Topics in Social Media Influencers’ Content Across Two Countries
sponsorship: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|11F6423N, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek|G0B7822N, 2022 AEJMC Emerging Scholars Grant
“Don’t Buy It!” Influencers’ Negative Product Reviews and Their Effects on Young Adults
On TikTok, ‘deinfluencing’ videos have recently been trending, in which social media influencers (SMIs)—described as regular people who become well-known online figures—advise against buying specific products. However, the effects of this content on young people’s brand- and SMI-related attitudes have so far remained underexplored. Drawing from negativity bias and attribution theory, we addressed this gap in a pre-registered between-subjects expe…
Detection and spill-over effects of AI-generated images in political messages: Evidence from two pre-registered experiments
AI-generated images may not only be used by malicious actors in political communication, but also by (photo)journalists or NGOs who cannot or—for ethical reasons—do not wish to rely on photographs to document political events. Yet, using synthetic visuals can potentially erode message and source trust, and may mislead audiences, especially when disclosures are missing. Addressing these issues, this article reports findings from two pre-registered…
Adolescents’ Trust in Political Content From Influencers: The Roles of Motive Attribution and Parental Mediation
In today’s fragmented media landscape, social media influencers (SMIs) have emerged as popular political information sources among young audiences—despite often lacking political expertise. However, we have limited knowledge about factors that predict trust in SMIs’ political content during early and middle adolescence, a critical period during which political attitudes are formed. This study proposes two novel theoretical pathways to explain var…
Adolescents as Citizen Scientists: Insights Into Their Exposure to Social Media Influencers’ Socio-Political Content
Social media influencers (SMIs) are important information sources for socio-political topics among adolescents. Adolescents may even ascribe digital super peer perceptions to some SMIs for sharing sensitive information (e.g., LGBTQ+ issues, health) that may be unavailable or uncomfortable to discuss among their regular peers. However, it remains unclear which socio-political topics adolescents encounter and which differential susceptibility facto…
Social Media and Politics (11 works) · Influencer marketing (8 works) · Media Influence and Health (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Social media (8 works) · Business (7 works) · Perception (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works)