Abstract
In this study, we examine how dissenting opinions to that of key opinions leaders (KOL) influence the information environment on an investor-focused online platform. Prior research has highlighted the role of social media in shaping information environments. However, the communication online can easily to lead to an echoing chamber, where the opinions of KOL are exaggerated by his/her followers in the absence of critical or scientific check. We will investigate whether the dissenting comments from the audience can influence the behavior of influencers, the KOLs. To test this, we design a field experiment on an investor social platform, where standardized dissenting and supporting comments will be posted as replies to opinions of a sample of randomly selected KOLs. To avoid subjective bias by human, we will rely on AI to generate the comments with different position right after the KOL publish the post. We will perform several sets of analyses: 1) How the KOL responds to our comments; 2) How the posts of KOLs will change; 3) How the interaction between among the audience will change; 4) Whether the information quality of KOLs’ posts improve. We expect to find that dissent acts as a subtle but effective monitoring mechanism for information providers, improving effectiveness of communication and enhancing information quality in the social media.