Survey on attitudes to media

A national report explored the long-term trends of American attitudes on the news media. According to the report, most Americans, perceiving increased bias in the news, are losing confidence in the idea of an objective media, and believe news organizations have shifted from observer to participant in the politics. Here are some findings:

• Americans see increasing bias in the news media.
• Americans think the media is pushing an agenda.
• Distrust in the media cuts along partisan lines.
• A majority say the media are under political attack (depending on their own party).
• Attitudes about the media varies by age, with youth being the most negative.
• Americans blame the media for political divisions but also see how media could heal divides.
• Americans want more newsroom diversity by political party and ethnicity.
• Americans feel overwhelmed news volume and speed, which the Internet makes worse.
• Local news is closely linked to civic engagement.
• Americans still think the media is vital for democracy. 

American Views 2020: Trust Media and Democracy. (2020). Knight Foundation.

https://medium.com/trust-media-and-democracy/americans-are-losing-faith-in-an-objective-media-a-new-gallup-knight-study-explores-why-8bc87139648e

kf.org/usviews20.

Study on Facebook tips to discern fake news

Using data from preregistered survey experiments conducted around recent elections in the United States and India, researchers assessed the effectiveness of a Facebook intervention modeled closely on the world’s largest media literacy campaign, which provided “tips” on how to spot false news to people in 14 countries. Results indicate that exposure to this intervention reduced the perceived accuracy of both mainstream and false news headlines, but effects on the latter were significantly larger. As a result, the intervention improved discernment between mainstream and false news headlines among both a nationally representative sample in the United States (by 26.5%) and a highly educated online sample in India (by 17.5%). This increase in discernment remained measurable several weeks later in the United States.
Guess, A. et al. (2020). A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India. PNAS July 7, 2020 117 (27) 15536-15545.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920498117