Erosion Of Credibility: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Twitter News Headlines from The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, And USA Today

To entice and commodify social media news consumers, contemporary news organizations have increasingly relied on data analytics to boost audience engagement. Clicks, likes, and shares are the metrics that now guide the editorial process and shape decisions about content and coverage. As such, news headlines are regularly manipulated to attract the attention of those who quickly scroll through social media networks on computers and smartphones. However, few studies have examined the typologies of news content most likely to be manipulated in social media news headlines or the impact of news headline manipulation on news source credibility. For this research, source credibility theory has been updated for a practical application of today’s social media news landscape and used as a lens to examine the phenomenon, its impact on audience engagement, and association with traditional standards of journalism and credibility. A mixed methods content analysis was conducted of news headlines published on Twitter compared to headlines and content published on the websites of five traditional newspapers: the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. The results indicated that the typologies of news most likely to be manipulated for Twitter publication (opinion, politics, health/medical), were also the least credible. Conversely, typologies of news that were least likely to be manipulated for Twitter publication (international, consumer, disaster), were rated the most credible

Digital Transformation of Croatian Newspapers: Analyzing Evolving Perspectives of Readers over a Five-Year Period

The digital transformation has revolutionized the media industry, reshaping the way news is consumed and challenging the dominance of traditional printed publications. As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, it is crucial to examine the evolving landscape of news publishing and understand the preferences and behaviors of readers in the context of digital and printed newspaper formats. This research article presents a comparative analysis of reader opinions on a significant Croatian e-publication over a five-year period, aiming to explore the impact of digital transformation on readers` perceptions, engagement, and preferences between online and traditional printed content. By delving into the advantages, challenges, and trends associated with e-publications and printed editions, this study provides valuable insights into the dynamic relationship between readers and news publications in the digital era

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO PROTECT BRAND REPUTATION FACING ” FAKE NEWS”

openThis study aims to explore the nature and impact of Fake News on brands and their customers, identify different categories of Fake News, and propose a conceptual model for companies to protect their brand reputation and mitigate the effects of Fake News. The research focuses on the managerial approaches and methodologies that brands can adopt to counter Fake News and safeguard their reputation in the digital era. A comprehensive literature review examines existing studies on Fake News, brand management, and the impact of Fake News on brands and consumers, highlighting the gaps in the literature. The review defines and categorizes Fake News, explores techniques for detecting and mitigating it, and investigates the relationship between Fake News and brand management. The findings reveal a lack of research on the managerial strategies for brands to tackle Fake News effectively. The study emphasizes the importance of developing proactive measures to detect and counter Fake News, as well as building resilience against Fake News attacks. By addressing these gaps, the study aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies for brands to navigate the challenges posed by Fake News in the digital media landscape.This study aims to explore the nature and impact of Fake News on brands and their customers, identify different categories of Fake News, and propose a conceptual model for companies to protect their brand reputation and mitigate the effects of Fake News. The research focuses on the managerial approaches and methodologies that brands can adopt to counter Fake News and safeguard their reputation in the digital era. A comprehensive literature review examines existing studies on Fake News, brand management, and the impact of Fake News on brands and consumers, highlighting the gaps in the literature. The review defines and categorizes Fake News, explores techniques for detecting and mitigating it, and investigates the relationship between Fake News and brand management. The findings reveal a lack of research on the managerial strategies for brands to tackle Fake News effectively. The study emphasizes the importance of developing proactive measures to detect and counter Fake News, as well as building resilience against Fake News attacks. By addressing these gaps, the study aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies for brands to navigate the challenges posed by Fake News in the digital media landscape

“This Will Blow Your Mind” : examining the urge to click clickbaits

Integrating the uses and gratifications (U&G) theory, the notion of information richness, and personal epistemology framework, the purpose of this research is to propose and empirically validate a framework which specifies Internet users’ urge to click clickbaits. The hypotheses in the proposed framework were tested using a between-participants experimental design (N=204) that manipulated information richness (text-only vs. thumbnail clickbaits). Curiosity, perceived enjoyment, and surveillance were significant predictors of the urge to click. In terms of information richness, the urge to click was higher for thumbnail vis-a-vis text-only clickbaits. Internet-related epistemic beliefs moderated the relation between the gratification of passing time and the urge to click. This paper represents one of the earliest attempts to investigate Internet users’ urge to click clickbaits. Apart from extending the boundary conditions of the U&G theory, it integrates two other theoretical lenses, namely, the notion of information richness, and personal epistemology framework, to develop and empirically validate a theoretical framework

Fake News in the era of online intentional misinformation ; a review of existing approaches

Διπλωματική εργασία--Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2019.Fake news is probably one of the most discussed issues of the past years. The term has acquired greater legitimacy after being named the word of the year by Collins Dictionary, following what the dictionary called its “ubiquitous presence” over the year 2017. However, the fake news issue has not been yet deeply researched. Therefore, in this thesis, definitions by the literature about the term “fake news” are gathered and through them, specific characteristics and criteria are extracted in order to verify the exact elements of false news and intentional misinformation in general. This study aims to identify eventually as thoroughly as possible what fake news is and what is not. For that purpose, through qualitative research, the total features of the term are exhibited and analyzed concluding in the classification of characteristics most of the fake news incidents present. Following the proposed feature identification is examined through specific fake news case studies. Finally, after understanding deeper and verifying specific characteristics that appear on the nature of fake news detection and mitigation actions are proposed, demonstrating the need for technological development on the issue and educational evolution on digital skills of the public, accomplishing an inclusive review of a less studied term, such as the fake news. At last conclusions are presented leading to the main remark of the current thesis, namely the need for further quantitative and statistical research as much as deeper theoretical study, to better decipher the issue of fake news and thus resolve it

Mainstream News Articles Co-Shared with Fake News Buttress Misinformation Narratives

Most prior and current research examining misinformation spread on social media focuses on reports published by 'fake' news sources. These approaches fail to capture another potential form of misinformation with a much larger audience: factual news from mainstream sources ('real' news) repurposed to promote false or misleading narratives. We operationalize narratives using an existing unsupervised NLP technique and examine the narratives present in misinformation content. We find that certain articles from reliable outlets are shared by a disproportionate number of users who also shared fake news on Twitter. We consider these 'real' news articles to be co-shared with fake news. We show that co-shared articles contain existing misinformation narratives at a significantly higher rate than articles from the same reliable outlets that are not co-shared with fake news. This holds true even when articles are chosen following strict criteria of reliability for the outlets and after accounting for the alternative explanation of partisan curation of articles. For example, we observe that a recent article published by The Washington Post titled "Vaccinated people now make up a majority of COVID deaths" was disproportionately shared by Twitter users with a history of sharing anti-vaccine false news reports. Our findings suggest a strategic repurposing of mainstream news by conveyors of misinformation as a way to enhance the reach and persuasiveness of misleading narratives. We also conduct a comprehensive case study to help highlight how such repurposing can happen on Twitter as a consequence of the inclusion of particular narratives in the framing of mainstream news

Gatekeeping Practices of Participants in a Digital Media Literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

abstract: Long before “fake news” dominated the conversation within and about the media, media literacy advocates have championed the need for media literacy education that provides the tools for people to understand, analyze, and evaluate media messages. That the majority of U.S. adults now consume news on social media underscores the importance for students of all ages to be critical users of media. Furthermore, the affordances of social media to like, comment, and share news items within one’s network increases an individual’s responsibility to ascertain the veracity of news before using a social media megaphone to spread false information. Social media’s shareability can dictate how information spreads, increasing news consumers’ role as a gatekeeper of information and making media literacy education more important than ever. This research examines the media literacy practices that news consumers use to inform their gatekeeping decisions. Using a constant comparative coding method, the author conducted a qualitative analysis of hundreds of discussion board posts from adult participants in a digital media literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to identify major themes and examine growth in participants’ sense of responsibility related to sharing news information, their feeling of empowerment to make informed decisions about the media messages they receive, and how the media literacy tools and techniques garnered from the MOOC have affected their daily media interactions. Findings emphasize the personal and contextual nature of media literacy, and that those factors must be addressed to ensure the success of a media literacy education program.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Journalism and Mass Communication 201

Fighting Fake News

The book focuses on how different generations perceive fake news, including young and middle-age groups of people, multiple age groups, university students and adults in general, elementary students, children, and adolescents. It provides insights into the different methodologies available with which to research fake news from a generational perspective