Perceptions of accuracy in online news during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

  • Mashael Almoqbel Jubail Industrial College
  • Jordan Vanzyl
  • Matthew Keaton NJIT
  • Manal Desai NJIT
  • Seejal Padhi NJIT
  • Seong Jae Min Pace university
  • Donghee Yvette Wohn NJIT

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v28i3.12342

Keywords:

COVID-19, accuracy perception, diary study, news consumption, credibility, output misinformation

Abstract

In this research, we assessed how young adults determine the accuracy of news articles and sources through a seven-day diary study. We performed a qualitative analysis on the participants’ responses and found that the participants mainly used nine different strategies to evaluate the accuracy of COVID news. The majority of respondents relied on their inherent trust and the reputation of a given news outlet instead of actively determining if the information was accurate. Young adults also used their perception of the quality of the article, personal logical reasoning, cross referencing the information, availability of data, among others. We discuss the implications of the results and propose practical suggestions.

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Published

2023-03-13

How to Cite

Almoqbel, M., Vanzyl, J. ., Keaton, M., Desai, M., Padhi, S., Min, S. J., & Wohn, D. Y. (2023). Perceptions of accuracy in online news during the COVID-19 pandemic. First Monday, 28(3). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v28i3.12342

Issue

Volume 28, Number 3 - 6 March 2023

Section

Articles

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