Trust

In an era where more than half of American adults regularly get their news from social media sites, a recent study reveals fundamental changes in how news is consumed, shared and valued. The findings are particularly relevant to ongoing debates about the quality of news on web platforms and its…

This article by Janet Coats, managing director of the University of Florida’s Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, and Kendall Moe, senior project manager and researcher for the Authentically project, originally appeared in the Nov. 16 issue of InContext, a publication by Digital Content Next. Trust – and the lack…

The problem of misinformation or disinformation being disseminated on social media has been well established and documented. But a new study suggests that users actually find factual posts more engaging than posts with misinformation. While there is a slight difference between misinformation and disinformation content, the authors show that factual…

Misinformation – false information that is unintentionally presented as fact – is a major issue in modern society. The current media landscape, dominated as it is by social media, allows information of all kinds to spread widely and rapidly. While this can be hugely beneficial when it comes to providing…

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate—that was the question for many families early in the pandemic. With the COVID vaccine highly politicized and paired with preexisting vaccine hesitancy, researchers sought to understand the effect that family communication had on someone’s willingness to talk about the vaccine with family. After all,…

Research from University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications scholars Sylvia Chan-Olmsted and Amy Jo Coffey will be presented at the European Media Management Association (EMMA) conference being held June 7-9 in Pamplona, Spain. The theme of this year’s conference is “Perspectives on Media Trust.” Chan-Olmsted, Media Production, Management,…

With increasing media digitization, convergence, co-creation and branded content, it is getting difficult to define what a “media” brand is. Today’s abundant content from linear media, tech companies, influencers and others also presents a growing challenge in measuring the trust consumers place on these different media platforms/outlets. In fact, timely…

It’s no secret that the United States is politically polarized, with large numbers of people distrusting news outlets and their journalists. Current efforts to increase trust by fact-checking and increased transparency are respectable but minimally effective. They largely offer tactic over strategy, disregarding a major player in perspective-building: where people…

By Lenore Devore, B.S. Journalism 1984 Advertising Associate Professor in Artificial Intelligence Yang Feng has focused her research in two areas: using machine learning to analyze a large amount of data related to ad campaigns, and exploring the role of social media algorithms in shaping consumer opinions. The goal is…

This column originally appeared on the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology website.  With the reality of Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of Twitter setting in, many individuals, news outlets and communities are left in the wreckage of the social media giant. It has served the world as the preeminent…

This article originally appeared in the London School of Economics USAPP blog.  Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court such as the overturning of Roe. vs Wade have raised questions about the institution’s legitimacy in the eyes of the American public. In a new study, University of Florida College of…

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology has advanced, its use has expanded to a range of industries, including broadcast news. AI could be used in place of a human weather newscaster, for example, if a human is not available during a weather emergency. Yet little research exists that looks at how…