A dangerous bond? Identification with social media influencers and the effects of mental health misinformation and overgeneralized messaging

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become a prominent source of mental health–related information for young audiences, who often view them as role models and develop strong identification with them. However, SMIs sometimes share health content that is either misleading or overgeneralized, raising concerns about its potential effects. This study investigates the impact of such messaging and examines the role of identification with the message source. We conducted a pre-registered 3 (message type: misinformation vs. overgeneralized vs. control) × 2 (identification: higher vs. lower) between-subjects experiment with N = 549 Gen Z social media users in Germany recruited from an online panel, investigating three main outcomes: belief inaccuracy, behavioral intentions, and self-diagnostic tendencies. While neither misinformation nor overgeneralized messaging consistently affected behavioral intentions or self-diagnosis, findings showed that exposure to mental health-related misinformation by an SMI significantly increased belief inaccuracy, that is, a greater endorsement of inaccurate claims, regardless of whether participants strongly identified with the influencer.