Trusting the Facts: The Role of Framing, News Media as a (Trusted) Source and Opinion Resonance for Perceived Truth in Statistical Statements

• Scholars have raised concerns that on many issues, citizens are reluctant to trust factual evidence and statistics. One factor that has been shown to impact the perceived truth in statistics is how they are presented, where negatively framed statistics are perceived as truer than positive. This study explores when this bias applies and not. Results from a survey experiment confirm the presence of a negativity bias in truth perceptions, but also that effects are heterogeneous and moderated by, in particular, the recipients’ preexisting opinions. These findings provide valuable information to public actors responsible for disseminating factual information to diverse publics.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

Keyword

equivalence framing

perceived truth in statistical statements

negativity bias

media trust

opinion resonance

equivalence framing

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)