Session | ||
C5: Politics, Media, Trust
| ||
Presentations | ||
What makes media contents credible? A survey experiment on the relative importance of visual layout, objective quality and confirmation bias for public opinion formation Konstanz University, Germany Relevance & Research Question The emergence of social media has transformed the way people consume and share information. As such platforms widely lack mechanisms to ensure content quality, their increasing popularity has raised concerns about the spread of fake news and conspiracy beliefs – with potentially harmful effects on public opinion and social cohesion. Our research aims to understand the underlying mechanisms of media perception and sharing behaviour when people are confronted with factual vs conspiracy-based media contents. Under which circumstances do people believe in a media content? Do traditional indicators of quality matter? Are pre-existing views more important than quality (confirmation bias)? How is perceived credibility linked to sharing behaviour? Methods & Data To empirically assess these questions, we administered a survey experiment to a general population sample in Germany via Bilendi in August 2023. As respondents with a general susceptibility to conspiracy beliefs are of major substantive interest, we made use of responses from a previous survey to oversample “conspiracy thinkers”. Respondents were asked to evaluate the credibility of different media contents related to three vividly debated topics: vaccines against Covid-19, the climate crisis, and the Ukraine war. We analyze these evaluations regarding the objective quality of the content (measured by author identity and data source), its visual layout (newspaper vs tweet), and previous respondent beliefs on the respective topic to measure confirmation bias. Results Our findings suggest that the inclination to confirm pre-existing beliefs is the most important predictor for believing a media content, irrespective of its objective quality. This general tendency applies to both, the mainstream society and “conspiracy thinkers”. However, according to self-reports, the latter group is much more likely to share media contents they believe in. Added Value Methodologically, we use an interesting survey experiment that allows us to vary opinion (in)consistency and objective quality of media contents simultaneously, meaning that we can estimate the relative effect of these features on the credibility of media contents. We provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of the often debated spread of conspiracy beliefs through online platforms, with their practical implications for public opinion formation. Sharing is caring! Youth Political Participation in the Digital Age GESIS, Germany Relevance & Research Question Navigating Political Turbulence: A Study of Trust and online / offline Engagement in Unstable Political Contexts The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel Relevance & Research Question: Within the backdrop of Israel's turbulent 2022 elections, the fifth round of elections within three years, This study delves into the complex interplay between political trust, efficacy, and engagement. It seeks to unravel how individuals' trust in politicians and the political system, coupled with their sense of political efficacy, influences their online and offline engagement in the political process. The research question focuses on identifying the specific predictors of political engagement in a context characterized by political unpredictability and frequent elections. Methods & Data: The study analyzes a representative survey of 530 Israeli respondents during the 2022 Israeli election period. The research evaluates the influence of various variables. These include trust in politicians, the political system, and political efficacy in online and offline political engagement. The analysis focuses on the differentiation between online engagement, such as social media activity, and offline engagement, like attending rallies or voting. Results: Statistical analysis reveals a robust correlation between political efficacy and both forms of political engagement (r = .62 for online, r = .57 for offline, p < .01). Trust in the political system emerges as a significant predictor of offline engagement (β = .36, p < .01), while trust in politicians is more strongly associated with online engagement (β = .41, p < .01). Notably, a mediation analysis indicates that political efficacy serves as a mediator in the relationship between trust in politicians and online engagement (indirect effect = 0.15, 95% CI [0.07, 0.24], p < .01). In contrast, such mediating effects between system trust and offline engagement are not observed. Added Value: By examining the nuanced factors influencing political engagement during political uncertainty, this study offers new insights into the differentiated impact of trust in politicians and the political system. It underscores the distinct psychological pathways that drive online and offline political engagement, enhancing our understanding of citizen behavior in democracies facing political instability. These findings have critical implications for political strategists, policymakers, and scholars seeking to foster civic engagement in similar contexts. |