New communication technologies have allowed not only new ways in which the audience interacts with the news but also new ways in which journalists can monitor online audience behavior. Through new ...audience information systems, such as web analytics, the influence of the audience on the news construction process is increasing. This occurs as the journalistic field tries to survive a shrinking audience for news. In this study, I argue that how journalists conceive of the audience as a form of capital influences the extent to which journalists integrate audience feedback from web analytics in their news work. I developed this theoretical framework through case studies of three online newsrooms that included a total of 150 hours of observations and 30 respondent interviews. The findings showed the extent of influence of web analytics on traditional gatekeeping processes and on a new gatekeeping practice online, which I call the process of de-selection.
•A survey of 736 college students found that Facebook use can trigger feelings of envy.•Feelings of envy were found to predict depression symptoms.•The effect of surveillance use of Facebook on ...depression is mediated by feelings of envy.•Surveillance use of Facebook has a direct link to depression, but the link is actually negative.
It is not—unless it triggers feelings of envy. This study uses the framework of social rank theory of depression and conceptualizes Facebook envy as a possible link between Facebook surveillance use and depression among college students. Using a survey of 736 college students, we found that the effect of surveillance use of Facebook on depression is mediated by Facebook envy. However, when Facebook envy is controlled for, Facebook use actually lessens depression.
This article offers a review of scholarly research on the phenomenon of fake news. Most studies have so far focused on three main themes: the definition and the scope of the problem; the potential ...causes; and the impact of proposed solutions. First, scholarly research has defined fake news as a form of falsehood intended to primarily deceive people by mimicking the look and feel of real news. While initial research has shown that only a small fraction of the online audience is exposed to fake news, for this small group of individuals, the impact of fake news can be quite substantial. Second, studies have identified cognitive processes that make individuals more prone to the influence of fake news, such as confirmation bias, selective exposure, and lack of analytical thinking. Fake news also derives its power from its appeal to partisanship, perceived novelty, and repeated exposure facilitated by both bots and human users that share them in the online sphere. Finally, while fact checking has also risen in response to fake news, studies have found that corrections to wrong information only work on some individuals.
This exploratory study seeks to understand the diffusion of disinformation by examining how social media users respond to fake news and why. Using a mixed-methods approach in an ...explanatory-sequential design, this study combines results from a national survey involving 2501 respondents with a series of in-depth interviews with 20 participants from the small but economically and technologically advanced nation of Singapore. This study finds that most social media users in Singapore just ignore the fake news posts they come across on social media. They would only offer corrections when the issue is strongly relevant to them and to people with whom they share a strong and close interpersonal relationship.
Through an analysis of relevant literature and open-ended survey responses from 2501 Singaporeans, this article proposes a conceptual framework to understand how individuals authenticate the ...information they encounter on social media. In broad strokes, we find that individuals rely on both their own judgment of the source and the message, and when this does not adequately provide a definitive answer, they turn to external resources to authenticate news items.
This study sought to examine the potential role of news avoidance in belief in COVID-19 misinformation. Using two-wave panel survey data in Singapore, we found that information overload is associated ...with news fatigue as well as with difficulty in analyzing information. News fatigue and analysis paralysis also subsequently led to news avoidance, which increased belief in COVID-19 misinformation. However, this link is present only among those who are frequently exposed to misinformation about COVID-19.
This study examined how exposure to government health advisories on face mask-wearing and trust in government influenced people's compliance with the advisory overtime. We conducted a three-wave ...panel survey (N = 1,024; T1 in February, T2 in March, T3 in April 2020) in Singapore, where the government initially enforced wearing a face mask conditional on feeling sick, and then later revised its advisory to make mask-wearing mandatory regardless of sickness. Exposure to the initial advisory at T1 had cross-lagged effects on forming positive expectancy, normative, and self-efficacy beliefs on conditional face mask-wearing at T2. Government trust at T1 also had a cross-lagged effect on increasing supportive perceived norm for conditional mask-wearing, while reducing positive expectancy of nonconditional mask-wearing at T2. Exposure to the revised advisory and government trust at T3 were positively associated with outcome expectancy, perceived norm, and self-efficacy regardless of behavior type. Regarding nonconditional mask-wearing, the autoregressive links from T2 to T3 were insignificant for perceived norm and self-efficacy and even negatively significant for intention and behavior. This study offers theoretical and practical insights by documenting the complex and dynamic processes involved in health decision-making during a novel disease pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented threat to global human wellbeing, and the proliferation of online misinformation during this critical period amplifies the challenge. This study examines ...consequences of exposure to online misinformation about COVID-19 preventions. Using a three-wave panel survey involving 1,023 residents in Singapore, the study found that exposure to online misinformation prompts engagement in self-reported misinformed behaviors such as eating more garlic and regularly rinsing nose with saline, while discouraging evidence-based prevention behaviors such as social distancing. This study further identifies information overload and misperception on prevention as important mechanisms that link exposure to online misinformation and these outcomes. The effects of misinformation exposure differ by individuals' eheath literacy level, suggesting the need for a health literacy education to minimize the counterproductive effects of misinformation online. This study contributes to theory-building in misinformation by addressing potential pathways of and disparity in its possible effects on behavior.
Despite widespread concerns that misinformation is rampant on social media, little systematic and empirical research has been conducted on whether and how news consumption via social media affects ...people's accurate knowledge about COVID-19. Against this background, this study examines the causal effects of social media use on COVID-19 knowledge (i.e., both in the form of factual knowledge and misinformation detection) as well as the underlying mechanisms through which such effects occur. Based on original panel survey data across six weeks (W1 N = 1,363, W2 N = 752) in the U.S., we found that consuming news from social media fostered the perception that one need not actively seek news anymore because it would reach them anyway through their social connections (i.e., “news-finds-me” perception). This, in turn, can make one both uninformed and misinformed about COVID-19 issues. Furthermore, this mediated relationship is stronger among those who experience higher levels of information overload while on social media.
•Consuming news from social media fostered the “news-finds-me” perception (NFMP).•NFMP made people both uninformed and misinformed about COVID-19 issues.•Information overload amplified the NFMP's negative effect on learning about COVID-19.
This study sought to empirically test whether exposure to and use of new audience feedback mechanisms have an influence on journalism culture. Specifically, the study was interested in testing ...whether such mechanisms impact the extent to which journalists perceive changes over time in their role conceptions. Such an exploration is timely and important. The roles journalists conceive of are shaped, in part, by what they think audiences expect from them. Such expectations are now communicated to journalists routinely and easily through new audience feedback mechanisms: reader comments, social media, and web analytics. Based on an online survey of 358 news journalists in Australia, this study found that reading readers’ comments frequently is related to an increase in the perceived importance of both consumer and citizen orientations. In contrast, perceived effectiveness of web analytics as audience feedback is related to an increase in the perceived importance of consumer orientation.