<![CDATA[The rapid growth of influencer marketing on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube has given rise to a counter-movement known as deinfluencing, in which content creators explicitly encourage audiences to avoid excessive or impulsive consumption. Although academic interest in influencer marketing continues to expand, the mechanisms through which deinfluencing content influences consumers' purchase intentions remain insufficiently theorized. In particular, the mediating role of source credibility in this relationship has received limited empirical attention. This study aims to address this gap by examining the direct and indirect effects of deinfluencing on purchase intention, with source credibility—comprising expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness—as the proposed mediating variable. Using a quantitative explanatory research design, data were collected from 130 active TikTok and Instagram users who had been exposed to deinfluencing content, selected through purposive sampling. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data using SmartPLS 3. The results indicate that deinfluencing has a significant effect on source credibility. Furthermore, deinfluencing significantly influences purchase intention, while source credibility also has a significant effect on purchase intention. In addition, source credibility fully mediates the relationship between deinfluencing and purchase intention. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of deinfluencing content in shaping consumer purchase intentions largely depends on the perceived credibility of the content creator.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
