Constructs	Code	Items	Source
Status-seeking Please rate the following statements on why you share or receive news content related to COVID-19	SS1	It helps me feel important when sharing	[34]
	SS2	It helps me to gain status when sharing
	SS3	It helps me to look good when sharing
	SS4	I feel peer pressure to participate
	SS5	It helps me gain support and respect
Information-seeking Please rate the following statements on why you share or receive news content related to COVID-19	IS1	To helps me to store useful Information	[34]
	ISK2	Is easy to retrieve information when I need it
	ISK3	To keep up-to-date on the latest news and events
Social tie strength Please rate the following statements on why you share or receive news content related to COVID-19	STS1	I feel my friends would share true information related to COVID-19 in SNS	[37]
	STS2	I feel my family would share true information related to COVID-19 in SNS
	STS3	The more people share and like the certain COVID-19 information in SNS, the more likely I will use and circulate it
Perceived herd Please rate the following statements on why you share or receive news content related to COVID-19	PH1	My choice to use or share content on COVID-19 is influenced by the number of people who like and share it	[38]
	PH2	If I realized that many of my friends share certain COVID-19 information in SNS, then I would be more willing to use and trust it
	PH3	The more people circulate and like certain COVID-19 Information in SNS, the more likely it is for me to use and reshare it
Para social interaction Please rate the following statements on why you receive news content related to COVID-19	PSI1	I have no problem using COVID-19 information shared in SNS by someone that I admired and respect	[20]
	PSI2	I look up to the figure I admire and respect, to obtain information related to COVID-19
	PSI3	I seek direction from the figure I admired and respect related to COVID-19 information
	PSI4	I normally relate my ideas with the information shared by the figure I admired and respect on his or her SNS pages
Individual SNS dependency Please rate the following statements on why you receive news content related to COVID-19	ISD1	I frequently obtain COVID-19 information through SNS	[21]
	ISD2	I make use of the information related to COVID-19 found on SNS
	ISD3	I immediately update COVID-19 information received from SNS
Fake news sharing on COVID-19 Please rate the following statements on your sharing behaviour related to COVID-19	FNS1	I have shared information related to COVID-19 virus that I later found out as a hoax	[39]
	FNS2	I have shared content on social media related to COVID- 19 that seem accurate at a time and I later found was made up
	FNS3	I have shared content on social media related to COVID-19 that was exaggerated, but was not aware it was exaggerated at the time of sharing
	FNS4	I have shared content on social media related to COVID- 19 without checking facts through trusted sources
	FNS5	I have shared content on social media related to COVID-19 without reading the whole article
Fake news knowledge Please rate the degree to which you believe the following statements	FNK1	I think news content related to COVID-19 without a source is probably untrue	[40]
	FNK2	When a news story on COVID-19 does not match the headline, it is likely to be inaccurate
	FNK3	Sometimes people publish unverified information related to COVID-19 to increase readability
	FNK4	I think some news on COVID-19 are fabricated to harm and cause chaos in the society
	FNK5	Sometimes news stories on social media related to COVID-19 are presented in a misleading way