Evaluating the fake news problem at the scale of the information ecosystem

“Fake news,” broadly defined as false or misleading information masquerading as legitimate news, is frequently asserted to be pervasive online with serious consequences for democracy. Using a unique multimode dataset that comprises a nationally representative sample of mobile, desktop, and television consumption, we refute this conventional wisdom on three levels. First, news consumption of any sort is heavily outweighed by other forms of media consumption, comprising at most 14.2% of Americans’ daily media diets. Second, to the extent that Americans do consume news, it is overwhelmingly from television, which accounts for roughly five times as much as news consumption as online. Third, fake news comprises only 0.15% of Americans’ daily media diet. Our results suggest that the origins of public misinformedness and polarization are more likely to lie in the content of ordinary news or the avoidance of news altogether as they are in overt fakery.

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Exploring the Spirit in U.S. Audiences: The Role of the Virtue of Transcendence in Inspiring Media Consumption

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly ◽

10.1177/1077699019894927 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 107769901989492

Author(s):

Sophie H. Janicke-Bowles ◽

Arthur A. Raney ◽

Mary Beth Oliver ◽

Katherine R. Dale ◽

Robert P. Jones ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Representative Sample ◽

Media Exposure ◽

Media Consumption ◽

Media Content ◽

Emotional Experiences ◽

Reliable Source ◽

Nationally Representative

Little is yet known about audiences who routinely seek out media content that is inspirational in nature. The current study expands the research on inspirational media by utilizing a nationally representative sample of U.S. audiences ( n = 2,016) to explore relationships between inspiring media exposure, trait transcendence, and self-transcendent emotions. Results show that media content is a reliable source for everyday self-transcendent emotional experiences in U.S. audiences. These experiences are most frequently encountered by persons with high levels of trait spirituality and gratitude. The profile of U.S. audiences that seek out inspiring media is discussed.

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The head and heart of news avoidance: How attitudes about the news media relate to levels of news consumption

Journalism ◽

10.1177/14648849211012922 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146488492110129

Author(s):

Stephanie Edgerly

Keyword(s):

Survey Data ◽

News Media ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Media Environment ◽

News Consumption ◽

Low Levels ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Consumption Survey ◽

Lack Of Knowledge

In today’s media environment, there are increased opportunities to consume news in various formats and styles. Why then, do some people say they consume little to no news? The focus of this study is to identify the factors related to extremely low levels of news consumption. Survey data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults is used to test different explanations for news avoidance. Results point to several factors that explain lower overall levels of news consumption. Extremely low news consumption is related to a disinterest in politics, perceptions of news lacking relevance, low news self-efficacy and a lack of knowledge about the news system. Perhaps surprisingly, the emotional toll of news (e.g. news fatigue, upset feelings) did not explain variation in overall levels of news consumption. Based on these findings, efforts to convert news avoiders into more regular consumers of news is discussed.

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