FINFLUENCERS AND THE MONETIZATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION FROM EXPOSURE TO ENGAGEMENT: EXAMINING FINANCIAL MISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

The rapid rise of financial influencers (fin-fluencers) across social media platforms has transformed retail investment and financial literacy, yet it has simultaneously accelerated the spread of financial misinformation. While existing literature often explores content monetisation strategies and misinformation in isolation, few empirical studies examine how these elements collectively shape audience engagement. This study investigates the impact of demographic factors (education and income), perceived monetization mechanisms, and platform accountability on user exposure to and engagement with misleading financial content.Utilising a quantitative survey methodology, correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the primary drivers of user interaction with financial misinformation. The findings reveal that education and income (r=0.03) have negligible relationships with misinformation exposure and engagement,demonstrating that vulnerability spans across socioeconomic backgrounds.