Influencers vs. Legacy Media on Instagram: Effects on Perceived Credibility and Following Intention

Social media has blurred the line between professional journalism and personality-driven commentary, yet we know little about how users evaluate credibility and engage with news from influencers and legacy media when they appear in the same feed. This short paper investigates how political ideology and news source type shape perceived credibility and follow intentions on Instagram. We conducted a mixed-methods experiment where U.S.-based participants (N=120) viewed a set of real news posts and rated the credibility of four accounts (two legacy media–based, two influencer-based), balanced by ideology (two left-leaning, two right-leaning), and indicated whether they would follow each account. Our findings suggest that perceived credibility on Instagram is multi-dimensional, rooted in ideological alignment, yet moderated by institutional signals and perceived authenticity. These insights highlight how platform design and source dynamics can reinforce selective exposure, with implications for both mitigating polarisation and strengthening trust in online news ecosystems.