Social Media Attention and Corporate Earnings Management: Perspective from Baidu Post Bar

Abstract

Corporate earnings management encompasses the strategies employed by corporate leaders to manipulate or adjust a company’s financial performance, with the ultimate goal of enhancing its market valuation, which may cause the distortion of accounting information. As investors give increasing emphasis to earnings management practices in modern capital market, social media attention has also become a possible factor affecting earnings management. This paper uses the theoretical framework of linear regression analysis, combines Python and other software to conduct an in-depth examination of the relationship between social media attention and the practices of corporate earnings management. and analyzes relevant cases by taking Baidu Tieba data as an example. The outcome reveals that: (1) The investor sentiment consistency has a positive correlation with corporate earnings management; (2) There exists a positive link between social media attention and the management of corporate earnings. The findings of this research offer a fresh perspective on mitigating corporate earnings manipulation, and serve as a valuable reference for investors in sifting through information to a certain degree.