scholarly journals Navigating High-choice European Political Information Environments: A Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110125
Author(s):  
Laia Castro ◽  
Jesper Strömbäck ◽  
Frank Esser ◽  
Peter Van Aelst ◽  
Claes de Vreese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Media Use ◽  
User Profile ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Online News ◽  
Political Information ◽  
User Profiles ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Informed Citizenry ◽  
Media Environments ◽  
Cross National

The transition from low- to high-choice media environments has had far-reaching implications for citizens’ media use and its relationship with political knowledge. However, there is still a lack of comparative research on how citizens combine the usage of different media and how that is related to political knowledge. To fill this void, we use a unique cross-national survey about the online and offline media use habits of more than 28,000 individuals in 17 European countries. Our aim is to (i) profile different types of news consumers and (ii) understand how each user profile is linked to political knowledge acquisition. Our results show that five user profiles – news minimalists, social media news users, traditionalists, online news seekers, and hyper news consumers – can be identified, although the prevalence of these profiles varies across countries. Findings further show that both traditional and online-based news diets are correlated with higher political knowledge. However, online-based news use is more widespread in Southern Europe, where it is associated with lower levels of political knowledge than in Northern Europe. By focusing on news audiences, this study provides a comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of how contemporary European political information environments perform and contribute to an informed citizenry.

scholarly journals Sharing and Commenting Facilitate Political Learning on Facebook: Evidence From a Two-Wave Panel Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512110478
Author(s):  
Dam Hee Kim ◽  
Brian E. Weeks ◽  
Daniel S. Lane ◽  
Lauren B. Hahn ◽  
Nojin Kwak
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Political Learning ◽  
Political News

Social media, as sources of political news and sites of political discussion, may be novel environments for political learning. Many early reports, however, failed to find that social media use promotes gains in political knowledge. Prior research has not yet fully explored the possibility based on the communication mediation model that exposure to political information on social media facilitates political expression, which may subsequently encourage political learning. We find support for this mediation model in the context of Facebook by analyzing a two-wave survey prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In particular, sharing and commenting, not liking or opinion posting, may facilitate political knowledge gains.

scholarly journals How Many People Live in Political Bubbles on Social Media? Evidence From Linked Survey and Twitter Data

SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401983270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Eady ◽  
Jonathan Nagler ◽  
Andy Guess ◽  
Jan Zilinsky ◽  
Joshua A. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online News ◽  
Political Information ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Environments ◽  
Political Spectrum

A major point of debate in the study of the Internet and politics is the extent to which social media platforms encourage citizens to inhabit online “bubbles” or “echo chambers,” exposed primarily to ideologically congenial political information. To investigate this question, we link a representative survey of Americans with data from respondents’ public Twitter accounts ( N = 1,496). We then quantify the ideological distributions of users’ online political and media environments by merging validated estimates of user ideology with the full set of accounts followed by our survey respondents ( N = 642,345) and the available tweets posted by those accounts ( N ~ 1.2 billion). We study the extent to which liberals and conservatives encounter counter-attitudinal messages in two distinct ways: (a) by the accounts they follow and (b) by the tweets they receive from those accounts, either directly or indirectly (via retweets). More than a third of respondents do not follow any media sources, but among those who do, we find a substantial amount of overlap (51%) in the ideological distributions of accounts followed by users on opposite ends of the political spectrum. At the same time, however, we find asymmetries in individuals’ willingness to venture into cross-cutting spaces, with conservatives more likely to follow media and political accounts classified as left-leaning than the reverse. Finally, we argue that such choices are likely tempered by online news watching behavior.

scholarly journals A little bit of knowledge: Facebook’s News Feed and self-perceptions of knowledge

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 205316801881618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas M. Anspach ◽  
Jay T. Jennings ◽  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Normative Implications

Given that approximately half of Internet users use Facebook to access news, it is no surprise that social media are increasingly seen as a viable source of political information. Despite the fact that the average social media user only clicks on a small fraction of political content available in their News Feed, social media use correlates with political knowledge. From where, then, does this knowledge come? We argue that Facebook’s News Feed itself, with its short article previews, provides enough political information for learning to occur. However, this learning comes with an additional consequence: audiences who only read article previews think they know more than they actually do, especially individuals who are motivated to seek emotions. While we are agnostic to the normative implications of such overconfidence, it is worth noting that similar behaviors are associated with political efficacy, knowledge, and participation.

Political Knowledge and Misinformation in the Era of Social Media: Evidence From the 2015 UK Election

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Kevin Munger ◽  
Patrick J. Egan ◽  
Jonathan Nagler ◽  
Jonathan Ronen ◽  
Joshua Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
News Media ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Political Information ◽  
The Political ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Media Platform

Abstract Does social media educate voters, or mislead them? This study measures changes in political knowledge among a panel of voters surveyed during the 2015 UK general election campaign while monitoring the political information to which they were exposed on the Twitter social media platform. The study's panel design permits identification of the effect of information exposure on changes in political knowledge. Twitter use led to higher levels of knowledge about politics and public affairs, as information from news media improved knowledge of politically relevant facts, and messages sent by political parties increased knowledge of party platforms. But in a troubling demonstration of campaigns' ability to manipulate knowledge, messages from the parties also shifted voters' assessments of the economy and immigration in directions favorable to the parties' platforms, leaving some voters with beliefs further from the truth at the end of the campaign than they were at its beginning.

Explaining Political Knowledge: The Role of Procedural Quality in an Informed Citizenry

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Clark
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The Political ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Informed Citizenry ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
Knowledge Seeking

While much is known about the micro-level predictors of political knowledge, there have been relatively few efforts to study the potential macro-level causes of knowledge. Seeking to improve our understanding of country-based variation in knowledge, this article demonstrates that individuals have an easier time finding and interpreting information in political environments that provide the public with greater opportunities to engage, observe, and learn about the political process. To investigate that possibility, the article analyzes how the procedural quality of the political process affects political knowledge. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and the Worldwide Governance Indicators Project, survey analyses show that the transparency and responsiveness of a political system indeed influence the public’s information about political parties and, to a lesser extent, the amount of factual knowledge retained by survey respondents. In other words, the quality of democratic governance affects how much individuals know about the political process.

Characterising Usage of a Multicomponent Digital Intervention to Predict Treatment Outcomes in First-Episode Psychosis: A Cluster Analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaunagh O'Sullivan ◽  
Lianne Schmaal ◽  
Simon D'Alfonso ◽  
Yara J Toenders ◽  
Lee Valentine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
User Profile ◽  
First Episode Psychosis ◽  
First Episode ◽  
User Profiles ◽  
Episode Psychosis ◽  
Social Components

BACKGROUND Multicomponent digital interventions offer the potential for tailored and flexible interventions that aim to address high attrition rates and increase engagement, an area of concern in digital mental health. However, increased flexibility in usage makes it difficult to determine which components lead to improved treatment outcomes. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify user profiles on Horyzons, an 18-month digital relapse prevention intervention that incorporates therapeutic content and social networking, along with clinical, vocational and peer support, and to examine the predictive value of these user profiles for treatment outcomes. A secondary objective was to compare each user profile with young people receiving treatment as usual (TAU). METHODS Participants comprised 82 young people (16-27 years of age) with access to Horyzons and 84 receiving TAU, recovering from first-episode psychosis. Six-month usage data from the therapy and social networking components of Horyzons were used as features for K-means clustering for joint trajectories to identify user profiles. Social functioning, psychotic symptoms, depression and anxiety were assessed at baseline and six-month follow-up. General linear mixed models were used to examine the predictive value of user profiles for treatment outcomes, and between each user profile with TAU. RESULTS Three user profiles were identified based on system usage metrics including: (a) low usage; (b) maintained usage of social components; and (c) maintained usage of both therapy and social components. The maintained therapy and social group showed improvements in social functioning (F (2, 51) = 3.58; P = .04), negative symptoms (F (2, 51) = 4.45; P = .02) and overall psychiatric symptom severity (F (2, 50) = 3.23; P = .048) compared to the other user profiles. This group also showed improvements in social functioning (F (1, 62) = 4.68; P = .03), negative symptoms (F (1, 62) = 14.61; P = <.001) and overall psychiatric symptom severity (F (1, 63) = 5.66; P = .02) compared to TAU. Conversely, the maintained social group showed increases in anxiety compared to TAU (F (1, 57) = 7.65; P = .01). No differences were found between the low usage group and TAU on treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Continued engagement with both therapy and social components might be key in achieving long-term recovery. Maintained social usage and low usage outcomes were broadly comparable to TAU, emphasizing the importance of maintaining engagement for improved treatment outcomes. Although the social network may be a key ingredient to increase sustained engagement, as users engaged with this more consistently, it should be leveraged as a tool to engage young people with therapeutic content to bring about social and clinical benefits.

Perception of factuality in selected online news media

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-148
Author(s):  
Eva Eddy
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Online News ◽  
The Other ◽  
News Report ◽  
Specific Event ◽  
The Way

Abstract The paper focuses on one’s perception of factuality in selected online news media. A group of university students of English were approached and presented with ten statements about Sweden and asked to evaluate their truthfulness. Half of the group (informed respondents) were then advised on the ways media use to infer a narrative onto the reader, potentially influencing the way they view events, while the other half (uninformed respondents) were not made aware of this fact. The respondents were then presented with a news report describing a specific event that took place in Sweden; however, half of each group were asked to read its tabloid description while the other halves were shown the event as reported by a broadsheet (both online). They were then asked to reevaluate the statements they were presented with before and decide whether their opinions changed based on the article they had just read. The results suggest that one is inclined to believe what they read, regardless whether the source seems reliable and whether they are aware of the fact media might manipulate their audiences.

Political sophistication

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Παύλος Βασιλόπουλος
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
American Literature ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Political Sophistication

This dissertation is concerned with the concept of political sophistication, referring to the extent and organization of a person’s stored political cognition (Luskin 1987).Available empirical evidence on the levels of political sophistication in mass publics comes almost exclusively from the United States and point to two broad conclusions: First, systematic empirical research has demonstrated that political information in the mass public is particularly low (Converse 1964, Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996). Citizens lack basic knowledge over political affairs. Time and again empirical studies have systematically showed that citizens in the United States and elsewhere fall short of passing even the most rudimentary political knowledge tests. This finding that was first illustrated by the Michigan school in the early 1960s (Campbell et al. 1960) resulted in a wide pessimism over the meaning of public opinion and even of representative democracy (Inglehart 1985).The second broad conclusion is that the politically sophisticated and unsophisticated differ: Political sophisticates have the cognitive capacity to translate their deeper held political values and predispositions into consistent political attitudes (Zaller 1992). They are able to use their political knowledge in order to make informed vote choices in the sense that they accurately adjust their political positions to the parties’ platforms (Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996, Lau and Redlawsk 1997, 2006). What is more, they are more likely to participate in elections and other political activities and are less susceptible to political propaganda (Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996).However the idea that political sophistication matters for the quality of the public’s political decision-making has met strong theoretical and methodological criticism by the ‘low information rationality’ perspective (Popkin 1991, Lupia 1994,Graber 2001). This group of theories argues that politically inattentive citizens can form their political judgment on the basis of heuristics that allow them to make reasonable choices reflecting their predispositions and interests even though they lack political knowledge.The principal aims of this thesis are: a)to compare different measurement perspectives on political sophistication and assess their methodological potential especially in regard with comparative research on political knowledgeb)to explore the extent to which the pattern of ignorance that has been repeatedly highlighted in the American literature is an internal characteristic of political behavior stemming from the low expected utility of acquiring political information or it is subject to particular cultural and systemic characteristics. To this direction I use Greece as a case study by undertaking an analytical survey of political sophistication, one of the very few that have been conducted across the Atlantic.c)The third aim is to investigate the determinants of political sophistication and especially the potential of the mass media in political learning and in the context of the Greek political and media system.d)d) Finally this thesis addresses the unresolved question concerning the differences in quality of political decisions between the political sophisticated and unsophisticated layers of the public by evaluating the explanatory potential of two competing theories (political sophistication v. low information rationality) in the multi-party political environment of Greece

A study of user profile representation for personalized cross-language information retrieval

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 448-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Zhou ◽  
Séamus Lawless ◽  
Xuan Wu ◽  
Wenyu Zhao ◽  
Jianxun Liu
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Query Expansion ◽  
User Profile ◽  
User Profiles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Language Information Retrieval ◽  
Cross Lingual ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Representation Techniques ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Purpose – With an increase in the amount of multilingual content on the World Wide Web, users are often striving to access information provided in a language of which they are non-native speakers. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive study of user profile representation techniques and investigate their use in personalized cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) systems through the means of personalized query expansion. Design/methodology/approach – The user profiles consist of weighted terms computed by using frequency-based methods such as tf-idf and BM25, as well as various latent semantic models trained on monolingual documents and cross-lingual comparable documents. This paper also proposes an automatic evaluation method for comparing various user profile generation techniques and query expansion methods. Findings – Experimental results suggest that latent semantic-weighted user profile representation techniques are superior to frequency-based methods, and are particularly suitable for users with a sufficient amount of historical data. The study also confirmed that user profiles represented by latent semantic models trained on a cross-lingual level gained better performance than the models trained on a monolingual level. Originality/value – Previous studies on personalized information retrieval systems have primarily investigated user profiles and personalization strategies on a monolingual level. The effect of utilizing such monolingual profiles for personalized CLIR remains unclear. The current study fills the gap by a comprehensive study of user profile representation for personalized CLIR and a novel personalized CLIR evaluation methodology to ensure repeatable and controlled experiments can be conducted.

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