60 research outputs found
Mis- and Disinformation About Covid-19 : Challenges for Health Communication
Misinformation and disinformation pose major challenges to effective health communication around the globe during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this special issue, we present research on mis- and disinformation about Covid-19 in the European context and describe challenges and potential solutions for health communication. More specifically, the special issue features articles that analyse (a) the prevalence of mis- and disinformation beliefs about Covid-19 and their impact on individuals, as well as the drivers of these beliefs and (b) the effectiveness of potential prebunking and debunking interventions to combat mis- and disinformation. The articles demonstrate the relevance of political attitudes and media use as significant predictors of belief in health misinformation and tested a variety of effective interventions– from pausing to think critically to detailed debunking. Together, the collection of articles serves to support the evidence-based efforts of international organisations, governments, social media technology companies, and major academic institutions to address the problem of health mis- and disinformatio
COVID-19 misinformation on YouTube: An analysis of its impact and subsequent online information searches for verification
Objectives COVID-19 vaccination misinformation on YouTube can have negative effects on users. Some, after being exposed to such misinformation, may search online for information that either debunks or confirms it. This study's objective is to examine the impact of YouTube videos spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccination and the influencing variables, as well as subsequent information seeking and its effect on attitudes toward vaccination. Methods In this observational and survey study, we used a three-group pre-test and post-tests design ( N = 106 participants). We examined the effects of YouTube videos containing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccination on attitudes toward vaccination via surveys, employed screen recordings with integrated eye tracks to examine subsequent online information searches, and again surveyed participants to examine the effects of the individual searches on their attitudes. Results Receiving misinformation via video tended to have negative effects, mostly on unvaccinated participants. After watching the video, they believed and trusted less in the effectiveness of the vaccines. Internet searches led to more positive attitudes toward vaccination, regardless of vaccination status or prior beliefs. The valences of search words entered and search duration were independent of the participants’ prior attitudes. Misinforming content was rarely selected and perceived (read). In general, participants were more likely to perceive supportive and mostly neutral information about vaccination. Conclusion Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccination on YouTube can have a negative impact on recipients. Unvaccinated citizens in particular are a vulnerable group to online misinformation; therefore, it is important to take action against misinformation on YouTube. One approach could be to motivate users to verify online content by doing their own information search on the internet, which led to positive results in the study
Effects of news factors on users’ news attention and selective exposure on a news aggregator website
Do journalistic relevance criteria still matter in digital news environments where news is selected and aggregated by algorithms? This article investigates how news factors (e.g., conflict, power elite) influence users’ news attention and selective exposure on the news aggregator website Google News. Alongside direct effects, the study also examines indirect effects of news factors on users’ news selection processes via media cues of news items on the news aggregator website (e.g., picture, position, and recency). The study relies on the news value theory and analyzes observations of users’ news attention and selective exposure on Google News via eye tracking (N = 47 participants, N = 751 news items). We conducted a content analysis on all news items on Google News that users paid attention to. The results show that news factors do not have direct effects on news attention and selective exposure, but rather indirect effects mediated via media cues of news items. Consequently, the traditional idea of newsworthiness based on professional journalistic norms continues to play a role on a news aggregator where news is selected by algorithms
Science communication research in the German-speaking countries: A content analysis of conference abstracts
The study examines the state of science communication research in the German-speaking countries. Based on a standardized content analysis of all extended abstracts submitted to the annual conferences of the German Communication Association’s science communication division from 2014 to 2018 (N = 141), it describes the respective scholarly community, its research foci and objects. The results indicate that science communication has developed toward a well-established community and marks an institutionalization of the research field. Furthermore, the findings of the content analysis indicate that science communication research in the German-speaking countries shows parallels to international developments in terms of research foci, objects, and analytical models, but also differences regarding theories and methods
Visuelle Evidenzen aus historischer Perspektive: Politische Instrumentalisierung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in Gesundheitsausstellungen
Visuell präsentierte Belege werden in der Wissenschaftskommunikation nicht nur zur Veranschaulichung von wissenschaftlichen Zusammenhängen genutzt, sondern sie stehen mitunter auch stellvertretend für die Evidenz demonstrierter Sachverhalte und suggerieren Objektivität. Verschiedene (visuelle) Evidenzpraktiken können unterschieden werden, welche allerdings auch instrumentalisiert wurden und werden, um politische Strategien oder Ideologien zu legitimieren. Der Beitrag zeigt anhand unterschiedlicher visueller Evidenzen und Evidenzpraktiken in Gesundheitsausstellungen, wie diese in verschiedenen historischen Kontexten zur Wissenschaftskommunikation und politischen Instrumentalisierung eingesetzt wurden. Unsere explorative, historische Analyse zeigt, dass visuelle Evidenzen und Evidenzpraktiken gezielt für politische Propaganda unterschiedlicher politischer Systeme in Gesundheitsausstellungen des Deutschen Hygienemuseums Dresden eingesetzt wurden. Diese politische Instrumentalisierung visueller Evidenzen zeigt sich auch ganz aktuell in der Verbreitung von Falschinformationen zum Thema Impfen und COVID-19
Visuelle Evidenzen aus historischer Perspektive: Politische Instrumentalisierung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in Gesundheitsausstellungen
Visuell präsentierte Belege werden in der Wissenschaftskommunikation nicht nur zur Veranschaulichung von
wissenschaftlichen Zusammenhängen genutzt, sondern sie stehen mitunter auch stellvertretend für die Evidenz
demonstrierter Sachverhalte und suggerieren Objektivität. Verschiedene (visuelle) Evidenzpraktiken können
unterschieden werden, welche allerdings auch instrumentalisiert wurden und werden, um politische Strategien oder
Ideologien zu legitimieren. Der Beitrag zeigt anhand unterschiedlicher visueller Evidenzen und Evidenzpraktiken in
Gesundheitsausstellungen, wie diese in verschiedenen historischen Kontexten zur Wissenschaftskommunikation und
politischen Instrumentalisierung eingesetzt wurden. Unsere explorative, historische Analyse zeigt, dass visuelle
Evidenzen und Evidenzpraktiken gezielt fĂĽr politische Propaganda unterschiedlicher politischer Systeme in
Gesundheitsausstellungen des Deutschen Hygienemuseums Dresden eingesetzt wurden. Diese politische
Instrumentalisierung visueller Evidenzen zeigt sich auch ganz aktuell in der Verbreitung von Falschinformationen
zum Thema Impfen und COVID-1
Grundlagenbeitrag: Inhaltsanalysen inklusive Medienanalysen
Der Grundlagenbeitrag fokussiert auf die Methode der Inhaltsanalyse inkl. Medienanalyse und reflektiert den Einsatz dieser im Bereich der Evaluation von Wissenschaftskommunikation. Nachdem einleitend deren Relevanz reflektiert wird, wird diese vorgestellt, indem Untersuchungsgegenstände, Analyseprozesse und Ziele der quantitativen/standardisierten und qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse erläutert werden. Herausgearbeitet werden dann die Analyseschwerpunkte der Inhalts- und Medienanalysen im Bereich der Evaluation von Wissenschaftskommunikation und ihrer Begleitforschung. Diese sind u. a. (1) Modi der Wissenschaftskommunikation, (2) die Genauigkeit der Berichterstattung, (3) die Darstellung, das Framing und die Bewertung von Wissenschaft und wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnissen, und (4) Dialogizität und Funktionalität der Wissenschaftskommunikation bzw. Funktionen der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. Im letzten Punkt wird ein Ausblick gegeben und relevante Forschungslücken werden herausgestellt
Content Analysis in the Research Field of Science Coverage
Science communication has been defined as encompassing “all forms of communication by and about the sciences, within science (professional audience) as well as in the [broader] public sphere (general audience)”. This broad understanding of science communication includes all kinds of communication focusing on scientific work or scientific results, within science or to non-scientists, in one-directional or dialogical form. It also includes communication about the natural sciences, the arts or the humanities, and it has considerable overlaps with research fields such as health communication and risk communication. Content analysis, especially of media content, is a common method in the research field and this article provides an overview of this research
How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? : Results of a Survey on Information Awareness, Behaviour, and Deficits
Since the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began, large amounts of (mis)information have been disseminated worldwide. We conducted an online survey in Switzerland (NÂ =Â 1,129) in April 2021 to ask respondents which information has received too little attention in public discourse, which measures help containing coronavirus infection and Covid-19, and about subjectively perceived Covid-19 misinformation. Content analysis of the open answers revealed that vaccination and its potential side effects, aspects related to political measures, psychological and social aspects, as well as science and research topics deserved more attention in the eyes of the respondents, mostly from politics or media. The most frequently mentioned effective measures were social distancing, wearing masks, general hygiene, and vaccination. Notably, the number of measures mentioned was related to the degree to which the pandemic affected individuals subjectively, trust in public institutions, and their individual level of science-related populism. Swiss residents with less trust in public institutions and who consume less news media on Covid-19 are more likely to believe misinformation on (in)effective measures against the virus. Most respondents encountered Covid-19 misinformation and could name examples, including sources. Education and information use affect the frequency of subjectively encountered misinformation. More highly educated people can name more misinformation instances encountered than less educated people
Politische Inhalte liken, teilen und im Internet lesen: Zum Begriffsverständnis von politischer Online-Partizipation
Der vorliegende Beitrag adressiert mögliche Unterschiede
im wissenschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Begriffsverständnis von politischer
Online-Partizipation. Die Basis fĂĽr den Vergleich bilden eine deduktive Analyse existierender
Definitionen von politischer Online-Partizipation im Schnittpunkt der
kommunikations- und politikwissenschaftlichen Literatur und eine sich anschlieĂźende
Online-Befragung. Neben Ă„hnlichkeiten zeigen sich auch Unterschiede:
Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler identifizieren bspw. Kreativität und
Effektivität in der Online-Partizipation. Aus Sicht der Bürgerinnen und Bürger ist
bereits die reflektierte und ernst gemeinte Auseinandersetzung mit politischen
Inhalten im Begriff enthalten und bildet ĂĽberdies ein zentrales Abgrenzungskriterium
zur politischen Pseudo-Partizipation online. Eine Ausweitung der wissenschaftlichen
Definition wird nicht empfohlen, wenn situationsspezifisch unterschiedliche
Formen und normative Qualitäten politischer Online-Partizipation
berĂĽcksichtigt werden
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