Believing and sharing misinformation, fact-checks, and accurate information on social media: The role of anxiety during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110114
Author(s):  
Isabelle Freiling ◽  
Nicole M Krause ◽  
Dietram A Scheufele ◽  
Dominique Brossard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Driving Factor ◽  
Fox News ◽  
News Outlet ◽  
High Uncertainty

The COVID-19 pandemic went hand in hand with what some have called a “(mis)infodemic” about the virus on social media. Drawing on partisan motivated reasoning and partisan selective sharing, this study examines the influence of political viewpoints, anxiety, and the interactions of the two on believing and willingness to share false, corrective, and accurate claims about COVID-19 on social media. A large-scale 2 (emotion: anxiety vs relaxation) × 2 (slant of news outlet: MSNBC vs Fox News) experimental design with 719 US participants shows that anxiety is a driving factor in belief in and willingness to share claims of any type. Especially for Republicans, a state of heightened anxiety leads them to believe and share more claims. Our findings expand research on partisan motivated reasoning and selective sharing in online settings, and enhance the understanding of how anxiety shapes individuals’ processing of risk-related claims in issue contexts with high uncertainty.

Reducing misperceptions through news stories with data visualization: The role of readers’ prior knowledge and prior beliefs

Journalism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146488492110287
Author(s):  
Paul Mena
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Data Visualization ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Graphical Representations ◽  
Prior Beliefs ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Issue Involvement

Amid the global discussion on ways to fight misinformation, journalists have been writing stories with graphical representations of data to expose misperceptions and provide readers with more accurate information. Employing an experimental design, this study explored to what extent news stories correcting misperceptions are effective in reducing them when the stories include data visualization and how influential readers’ prior beliefs, issue involvement and prior knowledge may be in that context. The study found that the presence of data visualization in news articles correcting misperceptions significantly enhanced the reduction of misperceptions among news readers with less than average prior knowledge about an issue. In addition, it was found that prior beliefs had a significant effect on news readers’ misperceptions regardless of the presence or absence of data visualization. In this way, this research offers some support for the notion that data visualization may be useful to decrease misperceptions under certain circumstances.

Physical Distancing and Social Media Use in Emerging and Older Adults During COVID-19: Large Scale Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Survey Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabo J van Woudenberg ◽  
Roy Hendrikx ◽  
Moniek Buijzen ◽  
Julia CM van Weert ◽  
Bas van den Putte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Random Intercept ◽  
Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND Although emerging adults play a role in the spread of COVID-19, they are less likely to develop severe symptoms after infection. Emerging adults’ relatively high use of social media as source of information raises concerns regarding COVID-19 related behavioral compliance (i.e., physical distancing) in this age group. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the current study investigated physical distancing in emerging adults in comparison to older adults and looked at the role of using social media for COVID-19 news and information in this regard. In addition, this study explored the relation between physical distancing and different social media platforms and sources. METHODS Secondary data of a large-scale national longitudinal survey (N = 123,848, 34.% male) between April and November 2020 were used. Participants indicated, ranging for one to eight waves, how often they were successful in keeping 1.5 meters distance on a 7-point Likert scale. Participants between 18 and 24 years old were considered young adults and older participants were identified as older adults. Also, a dummy variable was created to indicate per wave whether participants used social media for COVID-19 news and information. A subset received follow-up questions asking participants to indicate which platforms they have used and what sources of news and information they had seen on social media. All preregistered hypotheses were tested with Linear Mixed-Effects Models and Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models. RESULTS Emerging adults reported less physical distancing behaviors than older adults (b = -.08, t(86213.83) = -26.79, p < .001). Also, emerging adults were more likely to use social media for COVID-19 news and information (b = 2.48, SE = .11, Wald = 23.66, p = <.001), which mediated the association with physical distancing, but only to a small extend (indirect effect: b = -0.03, 95% CI = [-0.04; -0.02]). Opposed to our hypothesis, the longitudinal Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model showed no evidence that physical distancing was predicted by social media use of the previous wave. However, we did find evidence that using social media affected subsequent physical distancing behavior. Moreover, additional analyses showed that most social media platforms (i.e., YouTube, Facebook and Instagram) and interpersonal communication showed negative associations with physical distancing while others platforms (i.e. LinkedIn and Twitter) and Governmental messages showed no to a slightly positive associations with physical distancing. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, we should be vigilant for physical distancing of emerging adults, but this study give no reason the to worry about the role of social media for COVID-19 news and information. However, as some social media platforms and sources showed negative associations, future studies should more carefully look into these factors to better understand the associations between social media use for news and information, and behavioral interventions in times of crisis.

The Role of Social Media in Event Marketing

2021 ◽  
pp. 262-281
Author(s):  
Serap Serin Karacaer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Service Marketing ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Event Marketing ◽  
Effective Current ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
Effective Transfer

Activities, which include events that are not all intangible, include large-scale service components, and hence, their marketing includes service marketing. From this point of view, it is possible to state that it is very difficult to market activities that the participants cannot take home and consume physically. In this context, it is very important that the event marketing activities convey the feeling to the target audience that they will have fun and be entertained. Therefore, social media is one of the most important tools used in the effective transfer of the organization to the target audience within the scope of event marketing activities. As the most effective current communication and interaction tool, social media has become the most important tool for event marketers who are trying to appeal to large audiences and promote a certain destination, product, or service.

Testing the Effectiveness of Correction Placement and Type on Instagram

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 632-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K. Vraga ◽  
Sojung Claire Kim ◽  
John Cook ◽  
Leticia Bode
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Theoretical Mechanism ◽  
Correction Strategies

Despite concerns about misinformation across social media platforms, little attention has been paid to how to correct misinformation on visual platforms like Instagram. This study uses an experimental design on a national sample to test two features of user-based correction strategies on Instagram for a divisive issue on which misinformation abounds: the issue of climate change. First, we unite the inoculation and correction literature to test the efficacy of prebunking corrections that come before exposure to the misinformation versus debunking strategies that occur after exposure. Second, we compare fact-focused corrections that provide accurate information to rebut the misinformation against logic-focused corrections that highlight the rhetorical flaw underpinning the misinformation. Our findings suggest that these strategies intersect to reduce misperceptions. Logic-focused corrections effectively reduce misperceptions regardless of their placement before or after the misinformation, and appear to function in part by reducing perceptions of the credibility of the misinformation post. Fact-focused corrections only reduce misperceptions when they occur after the misinformation, but are seen as more credible than logic-focused corrections. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the theoretical mechanism by which correction can occur and the practical guidelines to best correct misinformation in visual social media spaces.

scholarly journals Partisan motivated reasoning and misinformation in the media: Is news from ideologically uncongenial sources more suspicious?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Clayton ◽  
Jase Davis ◽  
Kristen Hinckley ◽  
Yusaku Horiuchi
Keyword(s):  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
News Article ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Fox News ◽  
News Reports ◽  
News Source ◽  
The Media ◽  
News Outlet ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
Source Cues

AbstractIn recent years, concerns about misinformation in the media have skyrocketed. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that various news outlets are disseminating ‘fake news’ for political purposes. But when the information contained in mainstream media news reports provides no clear clues about its truth value or any indication of a partisan slant, do people rely on the congeniality of the news outlet to judge whether the information is true or false? In a survey experiment, we presented partisans (Democrats and Republicans) and ideologues (liberals and conservatives) with a news article excerpt that varied by source shown (CNN, Fox News, or no source) and content (true or false information), and measured their perceived accuracy of the information contained in the article. Our results suggest that the participants do not blindly judge the content of articles based on the news source, regardless of their own partisanship and ideology. Contrary to prevailing views on the polarization and politicization of news outlets, as well as on voters' growing propensity to engage in ‘partisan motivated reasoning,’ source cues are not as important as the information itself for partisans on both sides of the aisle.

Families, Funerals and Facebook: Reimag(in)ing and ‘Curating’ Toraja Kin in Trans-local Times

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Times ◽  
Funeral Rites ◽  
Familial Relationships ◽  
Familial Bonds ◽  
Non Local ◽  
In Trans ◽  
Anthropological Literature

AbstractThe Sa'dan Toraja of upland Sulawesi, Indonesia have long been celebrated in the anthropological literature for their elaborate procession-filled mortuary rituals, which draw vast networks of kith and kin to mourn, memorialise, and reaffirm familial bonds and obligations. Whether residing in the homeland or abroad, most Torajans underscore funeral rites as the most vital expression of Toraja familial and cultural identity. Although some estimates suggest that more Torajans now reside off-island and overseas than remain in the homeland, extended familial funerals in the homeland continue to have a centripetal physical, economic and emotional pull. While various scholars have documented the ways in which remittances from Toraja migrants or the presence of international tourists have transformed Toraja funerals in recent decades, this article focusses on the role of social media in navigating global familial relationships and rituals. Indonesia has the largest number of Facebook subscribers in the world, and this study offers the first exploration of the ways in which Facebook interweaves far-flung familial relationships. This study also examines house-society orientations in the Toraja highlands and addresses the use of Facebook by Torajans in the homeland to cultivate continued allegiances to ancestral houses (around which extended Toraja families are oriented). Finally, this article also examines a large-scale 2012 Toraja funeral in order to spotlight the contours of the Toraja family in the current era of neoliberalism and cyber-technologies. The article offers insights into the ways in which various Torajans navigate social media and non-local corporations to image, reimagine and negotiate familial identities for various audiences (local, national and transnational).

scholarly journals Combined Forces: Thinking and/or Feeling? How News Consumption Affects Anti-Muslim Attitudes through Perceptions and Emotions about the Economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Jacobs ◽  
Mark Boukes ◽  
Rens Vliegenthart
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
Group Conflict Theory ◽  
News Outlet

This study develops a model that contributes to our understanding of the complex relationship between economic motivations and anti-Muslim attitudes by analyzing the underexplored role of news consumption. Using a large-scale Dutch panel dataset ( n = 2694), we test a structural equation model theoretically grounded in group conflict theory, in which the relationship between news consumption and anti-Muslim attitudes is mediated by perceptions and emotions about the economy. Findings offer sound empirical support for the hypothesized model: news consumption increases pessimistic economic perceptions and negative emotions about the economy, which in turn strengthens anti-Muslim attitudes. The mechanism, however, largely depends on the type of news outlet and genre: watching television seems more decisive than reading newspapers; moreover, especially exposure to soft and popular news formats plays a dominant role.

scholarly journals A Disinformation-Misinformation Ecology: The Case of Trump

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Froehlich
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Fox News ◽  
Knowledge And Beliefs ◽  
Approval Rating

This paper lays out many of the factors that make disinformation or misinformation campaigns of Trump successful. By all rational standards, he is unfit for office, a compulsive liar, incompetent, arrogant, ignorant, mean, petty, and narcissistic. Yet his approval rating tends to remain at 40%. Why do rational assessments of his presidency fail to have any traction? This paper looks at the conflation of knowledge and beliefs in partisan minds, how beliefs lead to self-deception and social self-deception and how they reinforce one another. It then looks at psychological factors, conscious and unconscious, that predispose partisans to pursue partisan sources of information and reject non-partisan sources. It then explains how these factors sustain the variety and motivations of Trump supporters’ commitment to Trump. The role of cognitive authorities like Fox News and right-wing social media sites are examined to show how the power of these media sources escalates and reinforces partisan views and the rejection of other cognitive authorities. These cognitive authorities also use emotional triggers to inflame Trump supporters, keeping them addicted by feeding their anger, resentment, or self-righteousness. The paper concludes by discussing the dynamics of the Trump disinformation-misinformation ecology, creating an Age of Inflamed Grievances.

scholarly journals Preliminary yield estimation of the 2020 Beirut explosion using video footage from social media

Shock Waves ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 671-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Rigby ◽  
T. J. Lodge ◽  
S. Alotaibi ◽  
A. D. Barr ◽  
S. D. Clarke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Time Of Arrival ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Video Footage ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Clear Line

Abstract Rapid, accurate assessment of the yield of a large-scale urban explosion will assist in implementing emergency response plans, will facilitate better estimates of areas at risk of high damage and casualties, and will provide policy makers and the public with more accurate information about the event. On 4 August 2020, an explosion occurred in the Port of Beirut, Lebanon. Shortly afterwards, a number of videos were posted to social media showing the moment of detonation and propagation of the resulting blast wave. In this article, we present a method to rapidly calculate explosive yield based on analysis of 16 videos with a clear line-of-sight to the explosion. The time of arrival of the blast is estimated at 38 distinct positions, and the results are correlated with well-known empirical laws in order to estimate explosive yield. The best estimate and reasonable upper limit of the 2020 Beirut explosion determined from this method are 0.50 kt TNT and 1.12 kt TNT, respectively.

The Evolving Role of Social Media as News Outlet: Opportunities and Threats

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Cendera Rizky Bangun
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Generation Gap ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
News Source ◽  
The Media ◽  
To Come ◽  
News Outlet

As new media emerge and replace the popularity of conventional media, people use social media not only as medium to socialize, but also increase its role as news source or news outlet. A generational divide has always existed within news. The older people tend to choose TV and newspaper as their primary news source meanwhile research conducted by Reuters in 2015 showed that younger audiences that grown up in digital era, exhibiting very different behaviors and increasingly expect the news to come to them through online channels and in new formats. This makes social media become the opportunities and also threats to some news companies. What should the media do in order to survive? Does the generation gap influence the media to use both traditional and digital or social media? Some online media even put their headlines and link in Facebook and Twitter as news outlet, so people can just click the link and go to their websites. Methodology used in this research is qualitative with data gathered from focus group discussion and interview. The result of the study expected to show how the generation gap creates different media consumption and the need for news corporation to change their pattern in order to survive. Keywords: Social media, news outlet, new media

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