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- Castro, Laia, et al.
(författare)
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Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: A Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge
- 2022
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Press/Politics. - : SAGE Publications. - 1940-1612 .- 1940-1620. ; 27:4, s. 827-859
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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) pro- file 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.
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- Matthes, Jörg, et al.
(författare)
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Perceived prevalence of misinformation fuels worries about COVID-19: a cross-country, multi- method investigation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Information, Communication and Society. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1369-118X .- 1468-4462. ; 26:16, s. 3135-3158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Data suggests that the majority of citizens in various countries came across ‘fake news’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. We test the relationship between perceived prevalence of misinformation and people’s worries about COVID-19. In Study 1, analyses of a survey across 17 countries indicate a positive association: perceptions of high prevalence of misinformation are correlated with high worries about COVID-19. However, the relationship is weaker in countries with higher levels of case-fatality ratios, and independent from the actual amount of misinformation per country. Study 2 replicates the relationship using experimental data. Furthermore, Study 2 demonstrates the underlying mechanism, that is, perceived prevalence of misinformation fosters the belief that COVID-19 is spiralling out of control, which in turn, increases worries. Our findings suggest that perceived prevalence of misinformation can have significant psychological effects, even though audience members reject the information as being false.
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- Theocharis, Yannis, et al.
(författare)
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Does the platform matter? Social media and COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in 17 countries
- 2023
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Ingår i: New Media and Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 1461-4448 .- 1461-7315. ; 25:12, s. 3412-3437
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the role of social media in the spread of conspiracy theories has received much attention, a key deficit in previous research is the lack of distinction between different types of platforms. This study places the role of social media affordances in facilitating the spread of conspiracy beliefs at the center of its enquiry. We examine the relationship between platform use and conspiracy theory beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Relying on the concept of technological affordances, we theorize that variation across key features make some platforms more fertile places for conspiracy beliefs than others. Using data from a crossnational dataset based on a two-wave online survey conducted in 17 countries before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we show that Twitter has a negative effect on conspiracy beliefs—as opposed to all other platforms under examination which are found to have a positive effect.
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- Van Aelst, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Do people ever learn from social media? A cross-national and cross-temporal analysis of social media use on political knowledge
- 2022
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Ingår i: Paper presented at the International Communication Association annual conference.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Political knowledge is considered a vital condition for citizens to make political decisions or become politically involved. Social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook increasingly play a role in informing citizens about current affairs, replacing or complementing traditional news channels. However, the question arises to what extent citizens' use of social media actually results in them being more or less knowledgeable about politics and current affairs. Recent studies on knowledge effects from using social media suggests people learn little about political events and societal issues from social media. However, it remains unclear whether such findings hold across time and space, as comparative research on this topic is largely absent. Furthermore, there is virtually no research on whether the knowledge effects differ between normal times and periods with abrupt exogenous shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To fill this lacunas in the literature, we will draw upon a two-wave survey tapping into people’s online information habits and political knowledge. The data were collected in December 2019 (wave 1) and May-June 2020 (wave 2) in 17 Western democracies, mainly European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK). To test for the potential impact of the health crisis, we make use of measures tapping into general surveillance knowledge as well as knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that the use of social media is negatively associated to levels of political knowledge virtually across the board. Although the negative effect is not equally strong in all countries under investigation, it was never positive. More surprisingly, the negative learning effect is also present in the months after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. So also in times of crisis, those using social media for news did not increased their individual knowledge, even not when we only focus on questions related to the pandemic. Overall, our design proved to be very efficient in rejecting the assumption that social media use can be expected to make a meaningful contribution to political knowledge gain.
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| 8. |
- Van Aelst, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Does a Crisis Change News Habits? A Comparative Study of the Effects of COVID-19 on News Media Use in 17 European Countries
- 2021
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Ingår i: Digital Journalism. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2167-0811 .- 2167-082X. ; 9:9, s. 1208-1238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exogenous shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic unleashes multiple fundamental questions about society beyond public health. Based on the classical concept of ‘need for orientation’ and the literature on the role of the media in times of crisis, we investigate to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic affected news consumption in comparative perspective. Based on a two-wave panel survey in 17 mostly European countries, our study targets the role of both leg- acy news brands (TV, radio, newspapers) and so-called contem- porary news media (Internet-based and social media) during this global health crisis. Our results show an overall rise of news use across countries, but only for some types of news media. We find an increase of TV news consumption, and a higher reliance on social media and the Internet for news and information. This indi- cates that in times of crises and an unusually strong need for orientation, people mainly turn to news sources that are easily available and offer a more immediate coverage. Furthermore, we find the rise in news use to be mainly present among those who already have a higher level of trust in legacy media and among people that were more concerned about the impact of the pandemic.
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| 10. |
- Zoizner, Alon, et al.
(författare)
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The Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Selective Exposure: Evidence from 17 Countries
- 2022
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Ingår i: Political Communication. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1058-4609 .- 1091-7675. ; 39:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A widely believed claim is that citizens tend to selectively expose themselves to like-minded information. However, when individuals find the information useful, they are more likely to consume cross- cutting sources. While crises such as terror attacks and pandemics can enhance the utility of cross-cutting information, empirical evidence on the role of real-world external threats in selective exposure is scarce. This paper examines the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study to test the extent to which citizens were exposed to information from cross- cutting sources on traditional and social media after the outbreak. Utilizing a two-wave panel survey among 14,218 participants across 17 countries – conducted before and after the initial outbreak – we show that citizens concerned about COVID-19 were more exposed to cross-cutting information on traditional and social media. The positive relationship with cross-cutting exposure to traditional news was stron- ger in countries where governments adopted less stringent policy responses, and in countries with greater pandemic severity and weaker democratic institutions. Our comparative approach thus sheds light on the social and political contexts in which cross-cutting exposure can occur.
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