Shortcuts to trust : relying on cues to judge online news from unfamiliar sources on digital platforms

Scholarship has increasingly sought solutions for reversing broad declines in levels of trust in news in many countries. Some have advocated for news organizations to adopt strategies around transparency or audience engagement, but there is limited evidence about whether such strategies are effective, especially in the context of news consumption on digital platforms where audiences may be particularly likely to encounter news from sources previously unknown to them. In this paper, we use a bottom-up approach to understand how people evaluate the trustworthiness of online news. We inductively analyze interviews and focus groups with 232 people in four countries (Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to understand how they judge the trustworthiness of news when unfamiliar with the source. Drawing on prior credibility research, we identify three general categories of cues that are central to heuristic evaluations of news trustworthiness online when brands are unfamiliar: content, social, and platform cues. These cues varied minimally across countries, although larger differences were observed by platform. We discuss implications of these findings for scholarship and trust-building efforts

Less-tight versus tight control of hypertension in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: The effects of less-tight versus tight control of hypertension on pregnancy complications are unclear. METHODS: We performed an open, international, multicenter trial involving women at 14 weeks 0 days to 33 weeks 6 days of gestation who had nonproteinuric preexisting or gestational hypertension, office diastolic blood pressure of 90 to 105 mm Hg (or 85 to 105 mm Hg if the woman was taking antihypertensive medications), and a live fetus. Women were randomly assigned to less-tight control (target diastolic blood pressure, 100 mm Hg) or tight control (target diastolic blood pressure, 85 mm Hg). The composite primary outcome was pregnancy loss or high-level neonatal care for more than 48 hours during the first 28 postnatal days. The secondary outcome was serious maternal complications occurring up to 6 weeks post partum or until hospital discharge, whichever was later. RESULTS: Included in the analysis were 987 women; 74.6% had preexisting hypertension. The primary-outcome rates were similar among 493 women assigned to less-tight control and 488 women assigned to tight control (31.4% and 30.7%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77 to 1.35), as were the rates of serious maternal complications (3.7% and 2.0%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 0.79 to 3.84), despite a mean diastolic blood pressure that was higher in the less-tight-control group by 4.6 mm Hg (95% CI, 3.7 to 5.4). Severe hypertension (≥160/110 mm Hg) developed in 40.6% of the women in the less-tight-control group and 27.5% of the women in the tight-control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant between-group differences in the risk of pregnancy loss, high-level neonatal care, or overall maternal complications, although less-tight control was associated with a significantly higher frequency of severe maternal hypertension. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; CHIPS Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN71416914; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01192412.)

Echo chambers, filter bubbles, and polarisation: a literature review

This literature review examines social scientific evidence regarding the existence, causes, and effects of online echo chambers in the context of concerns about digital platforms contributing to polarisation in our societies generally, and in relation to scientific topics, specifically. The scholarship suggests echo chambers are much less widespread than is commonly assumed, finds no support for the filter bubble hypothesis, and offers a mixed picture on polarisation and the role of news and media use in contributing to polarisation, especially given limited research outside of the United States. Evidence about echo chambers around public discussions of science is limited; however, research on science communication points to the important role of self-selection, elite cues, and small, highly active communities in shaping these debates. These findings are important as terms like echo chambers are widely used in public and policy debates, sometimes in disparate ways, and not always aligned with the evidence

Playing Spotify’s game: artists’ approaches to playlisting in Latin America

This paper examines recent transformations in music industries associated with platformization by privileging the perspectives, experiences, and voices of artists. We draw on in-depth interviews with 41 musicians based in two Latin American countries: Costa Rica and Mexico. We analyze how artists perceive the “power” and limitations of playlists, how they think playlists are transforming music industries, and how they associate various forms of pressure with this process. We then show that artists’ perceptions about these issues are not uniform but rather variable by discussing three logics that shape the meaning they attribute to Spotify and playlists: dominant, oppositional, and negotiated. Finally, the paper explains the factors that account for why musicians in these countries espouse these logics in different ways. The conclusion argues for considering platformization as more than a purely technological process that needs to be situated within the wider national histories and cultural configurations of the music industries

Snap judgements: how audiences who lack trust in news navigate information on digital platforms

This report examines how audiences lacking trust in most news organisations make sense of news they encounter while navigating platforms, specifically Facebook, Google, and WhatsApp. Based on interviews with people in Brazil, India, United Kingdom, and United States, we find that they encounter limited news, and when they do, they often rely on mental shortcuts to determine what they can trust. More specifically, we find they often form snap judgments based on (1) pre-existing ideas about news in general or specific brands, (2) social cues from family and friends, (3) the tone and wording of headlines, (4) the use of visuals, (5) the presence of advertising, and (6) platform-specific cues. While some of these cues may be beyond the scope of what news organisations have influence over – putting the onus on platforms – others are within the scope of publishers' control but require them to be more attuned to how their content is exhibited in these spaces

Playing Spotify’s game: artists’ approaches to playlisting in Latin America

This paper examines recent transformations in music industries associated with platformization by privileging the perspectives, experiences, and voices of artists. We draw on in-depth interviews with 41 musicians based in two Latin American countries: Costa Rica and Mexico. We analyze how artists perceive the “power” and limitations of playlists, how they think playlists are transforming music industries, and how they associate various forms of pressure with this process. We then show that artists’ perceptions about these issues are not uniform but rather variable by discussing three logics that shape the meaning they attribute to Spotify and playlists: dominant, oppositional, and negotiated. Finally, the paper explains the factors that account for why musicians in these countries espouse these logics in different ways. The conclusion argues for considering platformization as more than a purely technological process that needs to be situated within the wider national histories and cultural configurations of the music industries.Universidad de Costa Rica/[835-C0-451]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro de Investigación en Comunicación (CICOM

Overcoming indifference: what attitudes towards news tell us about building trust

This report details findings from an original survey of news audiences in Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It examines attitudes towards media in each country, ideas about how journalists conduct themselves, and views about which sources of information can be trusted online and offline. The report focuses especially on people with minimal trust and finds some patterns across countries: the least trusting are not necessarily the most vocal critics who are often selectively trusting towards particular providers. Instead, the untrusting tend to be the least knowledgeable about journalism, most disengaged from how it is practised, and least interested in the editorial choices publishers make daily when producing the news. The primary challenge news media and journalists face from this part of the public is not hostility, but indifference. Earning their trust calls for a different approach than that required for other segments of the public

Depth and breadth: How news organisations navigate trade-offs around building trust in news

This report summarises major challenges news organisations face around building and sustaining trust with the public, focusing on four countries with varying media and political systems (Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The analysis draws on nine roundtable conversations held virtually in 2021 with 54 senior newsroom leaders and argues that one of the key questions news outlets face is around whether to build trust broadly with the public or instead to focus on deepening trust with audiences already predisposed to trust them. News organisations evaluated this question differently depending on their mission and business models, with many viewing trust as a means to an end including membership or subscription revenue. While this makes sense for individual outlets given the pressures and incentives they face, the report highlights the potential problem it poses for journalism generally as those who are most disengaged from news get excluded from trust-building initiatives

The trust gap: how and why news on digital platforms is viewed more sceptically versus news in general

In this report, we examine the relationship between trust in news and how people think about news on digital platforms, drawing on an original survey collected in the summer of 2022 in Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We find a ‘trust gap’ between how much people in all four countries trust information in the news media in general and news found on platforms, which they are more sceptical toward. At the same time, people have mainly positive feelings toward the platforms themselves. These differences are explained by reasons people express to use platforms, which are often about solving daily tasks or connecting with others, and less about news and information. Our results indicate that the challenge for news organisations may be less about an erosion of trust due to their being seen on platforms and more about being seen at all in these spaces