What Does It Take to Fight Fake News? Testing the Influence of Political Knowledge, Media Literacy, and General Trust on Motivated Reasoning

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-167
Author(s):  
Aleš Kudrnáč
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
General Trust ◽  
Literacy Training ◽  
Nationally Representative

This study explores youth accuracy judgments of disinformative and nondisinformative claims. Analyses are based on a nationally representative youth (16–20 years old) survey experiment conducted in the Czech Republic in 2017. When they were exposed to posts regarding refugee crisis, young people were asked to judge the accuracy of the statements accompanying the posts. Motivated reasoning of youth depended primarily on the alignment with the posts and the ideology of participants. Results of this research suggest that motivated reasoning works differently for liberals and conservatives. Perceived amount of media literacy training does not seem to affect directional motivation. General trust works as moderator of motivated reasoning and, in combination with ideology, appears to be important for understanding directional motivation when exposed to disinformation.

scholarly journals Educating for Democracy in a Partisan Age

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Kahne ◽  
Benjamin Bowyer
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
Nationally Representative

This article investigates youth judgments of the accuracy of truth claims tied to controversial public issues. In an experiment embedded within a nationally representative survey of youth ages 15 to 27 ( N = 2,101), youth were asked to judge the accuracy of one of several simulated online posts. Consistent with research on motivated reasoning, youth assessments depended on (a) the alignment of the claim with one’s prior policy position and to a lesser extent on (b) whether the post included an inaccurate statement. To consider ways educators might improve judgments of accuracy, we also investigated the influence of political knowledge and exposure to media literacy education. We found that political knowledge did not improve judgments of accuracy but that media literacy education did.

Tackling online disinformation through media literacy in Spain: The project ‘Que no te la cuelen’

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nereida Carrillo ◽  
Marta Montagut
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Public Deliberation ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Extra Effort ◽  
Literacy Training ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Data Location ◽  
Detection Strategies

Media literacy of schoolchildren is a key political goal worldwide: institutions and citizens consider media literacy training to be essential – among other aspects – to combat falsehoods and generate healthy public opinion in democratic contexts. In Spain, various media literacy projects address this phenomenon one of which is ‘Que no te la cuelen’ (‘Don’t be fooled’, QNTLC). The project, which has been developed by the authors of this viewpoint, is implemented through theoretical–practical workshops aimed at public and private secondary pupils (academic years 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21), based around training in fake news detection strategies and online fact-checking tools for students and teachers. This viewpoint describes and reflects on this initiative, conducted in 36 training sessions with schoolchildren aged 14–16 years attending schools in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. The workshops are based on van Dijk’s media literacy model, with a special focus on the ‘informational skills’ dimension. The amount of information available through all kinds of online platforms implies an extra effort in selecting, evaluating and sharing information, and the workshop focuses on this process through seven steps: suspect, read/listen/watch carefully, check the source, look for other reliable sources, check the data/location, be self-conscious of your bias and decide whether to share the information or not. The QNTLC sessions teach and train these skills combining gamification strategies – online quiz, verification challenges, ‘infoxication’ dynamics in the class – as well as through a public deliberation among students. Participants’ engagement and stakeholders’ interest in the programme suggest that this kind of training is important or, at least, attract the attention of these collectives in the Spanish context.

scholarly journals Advancing children’s news media literacy: learning from the practices and experiences of young Australians

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-707
Author(s):  
Tanya Notley ◽  
Michael Dezuanni
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Fake News ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Nationally Representative

Social media use has redefined the production, experience and consumption of news media. These changes have made verifying and trusting news content more complicated and this has led to a number of recent flashpoints for claims and counter-claims of ‘fake news’ at critical moments during elections, natural disasters and acts of terrorism. Concerns regarding the actual and potential social impact of fake news led us to carry out the first nationally representative survey of young Australians’ news practices and experiences. Our analysis finds that while social media is one of young people’s preferred sources of news, they are not confident about spotting fake news online and many rarely or never check the source of news stories. Our findings raise important questions regarding the need for news media literacy education – both in schools and in the home. Therefore, we consider the historical development of news media literacy education and critique the relevance of dominant frameworks and pedagogies currently in use. We find that news media has become neglected in media literacy education in Australia over the past three decades, and we propose that current media literacy frameworks and pedagogies in use need to be rethought for the digital age.

News Credibility and Media Literacy in the Digital Age

2019 ◽  
pp. 135-155
Author(s):  
Stephanie Jean Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Fake News ◽  
News Content ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
News Credibility

With the hostile media phenomenon as an overarching framework, this chapter discusses how challenging it can be for media literacy education to successfully combat motivated reasoning in which individuals are likely to be hostile when exposed to news content that is incongruent with their personal point of view. Such discussion is vital in times when news audiences are cynical and skeptical towards both politicians and media agencies. Given the importance of understanding and studying individuals' perceptions of news biases and assessments of news credibility, this chapter makes a case for establishing more objective standards for journalistic work to overcome the challenges brought about by the rise of fake news in the digital era.

News Credibility and Media Literacy in the Digital Age

2021 ◽  
pp. 544-564
Author(s):  
Stephanie Jean Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Fake News ◽  
News Content ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
News Credibility

With the hostile media phenomenon as an overarching framework, this chapter discusses how challenging it can be for media literacy education to successfully combat motivated reasoning in which individuals are likely to be hostile when exposed to news content that is incongruent with their personal point of view. Such discussion is vital in times when news audiences are cynical and skeptical towards both politicians and media agencies. Given the importance of understanding and studying individuals' perceptions of news biases and assessments of news credibility, this chapter makes a case for establishing more objective standards for journalistic work to overcome the challenges brought about by the rise of fake news in the digital era.

scholarly journals Humanitarian Communication in a Post-Truth World

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mel Bunce
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Humanitarian Emergencies ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Literacy Training ◽  
Fact Checking

When people look online for information about humanitarian crises, they increasingly encounter media content that blurs the line between reality and fiction. This includes everything from rumour and exaggeration to partisan journalism and completely invented stories designed to look like real news (so-called ‘fake news’). This article shows that disinformation is causing real and serious harm to those affected by humanitarian emergencies; it can undermine the ability of humanitarian workers to provide relief; and it has exacerbated conflict and violence. Disinformation is also making it harder for journalists to report on the humanitarian sector, and hold the powerful to account, because it undermines audience trust in information more generally. The article concludes by considering interventions that could address the challenges of disinformation. It argues for more support of quality journalism about humanitarian crises, as well as media literacy training. Finally, it is crucial that aid agencies and news outlets commit to accuracy and fact checking in their reporting and campaigning.

Are voters too afraid to tackle corruption? Survey and experimental evidence from Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Omar García-Ponce ◽  
Thomas Zeitzoff ◽  
Leonard Wantchekon
Keyword(s):  
Political Behavior ◽  
Causal Effects ◽  
Willingness To Accept ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Drug War ◽  
Mexican Drug War ◽  
The Face ◽  
Victims Of Crime ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Are individuals in violent contexts reluctant to tackle corruption for fear of future violence? Or does violence mobilize them to fight corruption? We investigate these questions looking at the effects of fear and violence stemming from the Mexican Drug War on attitudes toward corruption. We conducted two surveys before the 2012 Mexican presidential election. First, as part of a nationally representative survey, we find a positive correlation between fear of violence and willingness to accept corruption in exchange for lower levels of violence. To disentangle causal effects, we conducted a follow-up survey experiment in Greater Mexico City where we manipulated fear over the Drug War. We find that individuals within this context are not easily scared. Those who received a common fear-inducing manipulation do not report higher levels of fear and are less willing to tolerate corruption. Conversely, we find strong evidence that individuals who have been victims of crime are more likely to report both higher levels of fear and willingness to accept corruption if it lowers violence. Our findings suggest that voters are more strategic and resilient in the face of violence than many extant theories of political behavior suggest.

President Obama and the Emergence of Islamophobia in Mass Partisan Preferences

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110072
Author(s):  
Michael Tesler
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Independent Predictor ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
President Obama ◽  
Significant Independent Predictor ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Panel Surveys ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship

This article argues that the unusually large and persistent association between Islamophobia and opposition to President Obama helped make attitudes about Muslims a significant, independent predictor of Americans’ broader partisan preferences. After detailing the theoretical basis for this argument, the article marshals repeated cross-sectional data, two panel surveys, and a nationally representative survey experiment, to test its hypotheses. The results from those analyses show the following: (1) attitudes about Muslims were a significantly stronger independent predictor of voter preferences for congress in 2010–2014 elections than they were in 2004–2008; (2) attitudes about Muslims were a significantly stronger independent predictor of mass partisanship during Obama’s presidency than they were beforehand; and (3) experimentally connecting Obama to Democratic congressional candidates significantly increased the relationship between anti-Muslim sentiments and Americans’ preferences for Republican congressional candidates. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for American politics in the Trump era.

scholarly journals Correcting Citizens’ Misperceptions about non-Western Immigrants: Corrective Information, Interpretations, and Policy Opinions

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik Juhl Jørgensen ◽  
Mathias Osmundsen
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Correct Information ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Large Scale Survey ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Information Change ◽  
Corrective Information

Abstract Can corrective information change citizens’ misperceptions about immigrants and subsequently lead to favorable immigration opinions? While prior studies from the USA document how corrections about the size of minority populations fail to change citizens’ immigration-related opinions, they do not examine how other facts that speak to immigrants’ cultural or economic dependency rates can influence immigration policy opinions. To extend earlier work, we conducted a large-scale survey experiment fielded to a nationally representative sample of Danes. We randomly expose participants to information about non-Western immigrants’ (1) welfare dependency rate, (2) crime rate, and (3) proportion of the total population. We find that participants update their factual beliefs in light of correct information, but reinterpret the information in a highly selective fashion, ultimately failing to change their policy preferences.

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