Extending previous research, we test two solutions for addressing misinformation by pairing news ... more Extending previous research, we test two solutions for addressing misinformation by pairing news literacy (NL) messages with corrective responses to health misinformation shared on Twitter. Importantly, we consider a range of outcomes, including not just credibility or misperceptions, but also feelings of news literacy and support for its value. Using an experiment, we find that user corrections of a meme containing false information reduced credibility assessments of the misinformation post and misperceptions but seeing misinformation also produced lower perceptions of personal news literacy and its value for society, regardless of whether it is corrected or not. Exposure to an NL message did not enhance the effectiveness of these corrective responses nor boost NL attitudes and may have generated cynicism. We discuss the challenges of designing NL messages for social media that achieve the wide range of goals news literacy interventions aspire to address.
Since December 2019, COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly across the world. Not surprisingly, conv... more Since December 2019, COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly across the world. Not surprisingly, conversation about COVID-19 is also increasing. This article is a first look at the amount of conversation taking place on social media, specifically Twitter, with respect to COVID-19, the themes of discussion, where the discussion is emerging from, myths shared about the virus, and how much of it is connected to other high and low quality information on the Internet through shared URL links. Our preliminary findings suggest that a meaningful spatio-temporal relationship exists between information flow and new cases of COVID-19, and while discussions about myths and links to poor quality information exist, their presence is less dominant than other crisis specific themes. This research is a first step toward understanding social media conversation about COVID-19.
Citizens often attempt to interact with government through online modes of communication such as ... more Citizens often attempt to interact with government through online modes of communication such as email and social media. Using an audit study, we examine when and how American municipalities with populations of over 50,000 respond to online requests for information. We develop baselines for municipal responsiveness, including the average rate, time, and quality of responses, and examine whether these response attributes vary based on the mode of communication or the tone of the request. Overall, municipalities responded to 54% of email requests and 38% of Twitter requests. A majority of responses were received on the same business day. Responses are slightly faster on Twitter, but of higher quality on email. Governments are more likely to respond to frustrated constituents on email, but respond faster to frustrated queries on Twitter, though with lower quality responses. These findings contribute to our understanding of local government responsiveness and have significant implications for democratic accountability and resident compliance with and the effectiveness of local government policies. Furthermore, our scholarly understanding of local government communications with residents, and particularly the promise of social media as a tool of two-way communication, may be underdeveloped.
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-nms-10.1177_1461444821998691 for Assessing the relative merits of... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-nms-10.1177_1461444821998691 for Assessing the relative merits of news literacy and corrections in responding to misinformation on Twitter by Emily Vraga, Melissa Tully and Leticia Bode in New Media & Society
Supplemental material, online_supp_-_IJPP_Supplemental_information_file for Testing the Effective... more Supplemental material, online_supp_-_IJPP_Supplemental_information_file for Testing the Effectiveness of Correction Placement and Type on Instagram by Emily K. Vraga, Sojung Claire Kim, John Cook and Leticia Bode in The International Journal of Press/Politics
Extending previous research, we test two solutions for addressing misinformation by pairing news ... more Extending previous research, we test two solutions for addressing misinformation by pairing news literacy (NL) messages with corrective responses to health misinformation shared on Twitter. Importantly, we consider a range of outcomes, including not just credibility or misperceptions, but also feelings of news literacy and support for its value. Using an experiment, we find that user corrections of a meme containing false information reduced credibility assessments of the misinformation post and misperceptions but seeing misinformation also produced lower perceptions of personal news literacy and its value for society, regardless of whether it is corrected or not. Exposure to an NL message did not enhance the effectiveness of these corrective responses nor boost NL attitudes and may have generated cynicism. We discuss the challenges of designing NL messages for social media that achieve the wide range of goals news literacy interventions aspire to address.
Since December 2019, COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly across the world. Not surprisingly, conv... more Since December 2019, COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly across the world. Not surprisingly, conversation about COVID-19 is also increasing. This article is a first look at the amount of conversation taking place on social media, specifically Twitter, with respect to COVID-19, the themes of discussion, where the discussion is emerging from, myths shared about the virus, and how much of it is connected to other high and low quality information on the Internet through shared URL links. Our preliminary findings suggest that a meaningful spatio-temporal relationship exists between information flow and new cases of COVID-19, and while discussions about myths and links to poor quality information exist, their presence is less dominant than other crisis specific themes. This research is a first step toward understanding social media conversation about COVID-19.
Citizens often attempt to interact with government through online modes of communication such as ... more Citizens often attempt to interact with government through online modes of communication such as email and social media. Using an audit study, we examine when and how American municipalities with populations of over 50,000 respond to online requests for information. We develop baselines for municipal responsiveness, including the average rate, time, and quality of responses, and examine whether these response attributes vary based on the mode of communication or the tone of the request. Overall, municipalities responded to 54% of email requests and 38% of Twitter requests. A majority of responses were received on the same business day. Responses are slightly faster on Twitter, but of higher quality on email. Governments are more likely to respond to frustrated constituents on email, but respond faster to frustrated queries on Twitter, though with lower quality responses. These findings contribute to our understanding of local government responsiveness and have significant implications for democratic accountability and resident compliance with and the effectiveness of local government policies. Furthermore, our scholarly understanding of local government communications with residents, and particularly the promise of social media as a tool of two-way communication, may be underdeveloped.
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-nms-10.1177_1461444821998691 for Assessing the relative merits of... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-nms-10.1177_1461444821998691 for Assessing the relative merits of news literacy and corrections in responding to misinformation on Twitter by Emily Vraga, Melissa Tully and Leticia Bode in New Media & Society
Supplemental material, online_supp_-_IJPP_Supplemental_information_file for Testing the Effective... more Supplemental material, online_supp_-_IJPP_Supplemental_information_file for Testing the Effectiveness of Correction Placement and Type on Instagram by Emily K. Vraga, Sojung Claire Kim, John Cook and Leticia Bode in The International Journal of Press/Politics
Uploads
Papers