It is rather contradictory that there is a high demand for authenticity in today’s virtual space, where some platforms encourage the proliferation of idealized images, the products of digital alteration. Previous studies have examined how social media users perceive the authenticity and credibility of new digital celebrities—influencers—and the impacts on advertising outcomes. Authenticity in media communication has been defined in many ways, but most definitions include factors such as sincerity, trustworthiness, accuracy, originality, and spontaneity. Prior research on authenticity in computer-mediated communication emphasized the importance of three levels of authenticity, that of the source, of the message, and of the interaction. How social media influencers (SMIs) perceive their own authenticity is an understudied topic. SMIs are simultaneously perceived by their audiences as celebrities, experts, and consumers. Expanding their audiences is one of their goals. Being authentic at the beginning of one’s SMI career as a content creator might be simple, but it becomes much more challenging after one’s audience has grown significantly. Sponsorship can pose a challenge to an SMI’s authenticity. The present study aims to explore the role that authenticity plays for SMIs and develop a theoretical framework for understanding the self-perceived authenticity of SMIs. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with SMIs that have both national and international audiences (<em>N = </em>20). Sincerity, expertise, uniqueness, commitment to values, mediated realness, visibility, communication style, spontaneity, transparent and creative brand endorsement, commitment to followers, and frequency of interaction are the components of the proposed model.

中文翻译：

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社交媒体影响者自我感知真实性的建议模型

相当矛盾的是，当今虚拟空间对真实性的要求很高，一些平台鼓励理想化图像的扩散，即数字化改造的产物。以前的研究已经检查了社交媒体用户如何看待新的数字名人（影响者）的真实性和可信度以及对广告结果的影响。媒体传播的真实性有多种定义，但大多数定义都包括真诚、可信度、准确性、原创性和自发性等因素。先前关于计算机媒介传播中真实性的研究强调了三个真实性水平的重要性，即来源、信息和交互的真实性。社交媒体影响者 (SMI) 如何看待自己的真实性是一个未被充分研究的话题。SMI 同时被其受众视为名人、专家和消费者。扩大受众是他们的目标之一。作为内容创作者，在 SMI 职业生涯初期保持真实可能很简单，但在受众显着增长后变得更具挑战性。赞助可能对 SMI 的真实性构成挑战。本研究旨在探讨真实性对 SMI 的作用，并建立一个理论框架来理解 SMI 的自我感知真实性。为此，对拥有国内和国际受众的 SMI 进行了深入访谈 (<em>N = </em>20)。真诚、专业、独特、对价值观的承诺、中介真实性、知名度、沟通方式、自发性、透明和创意品牌代言，