The Governance-Embedded Interactive Media Effect: the role of AI-generated disclosure in user credibility and engagement based on fact-checking videos on Chinese TikTok (Douyin)

In response to growing regulatory and trust challenges related to AI-generated content, Chinese social media platforms have implemented algorithmic transparency signals, such as disclosures that identify AI-generated videos. These disclosures function as intentional governance tools rather than as neutral interface features. This study conceptualizes AI-generated content (AIGC) disclosure as governance-embedded media cues that reflect platforms’ strategic attempts to influence user perceptions and behaviors under social and policy pressures. Drawing on the Theory of Interactive Media Effect (TIME) and research on platform governance, this study investigates how heuristic processing and transparency signals affect users’ perceived credibility and engagement with content, while also examining individual differences in belief in machine heuristic. The results from an online experiment (n = 156) indicated significant interaction. For users with a weaker belief in machine heuristic, AIGC disclosure reduces perceived credibility and social media engagement even in authoritative fact-checking videos. The findings highlight that using AIGC disclosures in short videos as a way for platforms to demonstrate accountability effectively transfers responsibility for verifying information’s accuracy to users.