The Role of Social Networks in Generating Rumors in Election Periods (Case Study: Instagram)

Expansion of social media activity on the internet and mobile phones has provided suitable space for production and publication rumors in the society. This qualitative study has been conducted in 1394, with an Ethnographical method and depth interview techniques to collect data, in a period of two months before and two months after the parliamentary elections and the assembly of experts for leadership. Among the pages of Persian language Instagram as statistical society, 40 pages selected with targeted sampling and depth interviewed with 17 people among the owners of these 40 pages, and analyzed data while studying sources of political rumors during the election period. According to results of this study, interactive features, the production and publication content by users, the formation of friendly groups, multimedia features and the widespread interpersonal communication are most important features of social networks in the production and publication of rumors in the society. Research shows that political rumors in the Instagram produced and published with the goals of political propaganda, unrest in the election space, entertainment, the production of dissension among members  of the society, the distortion of elections and the lack of democracy in it, reducing the motivation of people to participate in the election and the destruction of rival candidates and opposition parties by three main sources of internal and external opposition groups, political activists in the parties and election campaigns of each of the candidates and the public in the social network.