Misleading Information in Social Media News: How Bias Effects Perceptions
Location
Guzman 201, Dominican University of California
Start Date
4-20-2017 7:00 PM
End Date
4-20-2017 7:30 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate - Honors
Faculty Mentor(s)
Veronica Fruiht, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Correcting misinformation is challenging because of the difficulty in changing biases (Ecker et al., 2013). Biased decisions are learned behaviors. People choose information that they are more frequently exposed to and from which they gather rewards (Sali, Anderson, & Courtney, 2016). Social media has become a new reward system for biased information (Neubaum et al, 2016). The difficulty of correcting misinformation multiplies as people have begun choosing social media as their preferred news platform. Social media news has focused its reporting on police (Sela-Shayovitz, 2015). Among participants who saw a misleading clip before a longer video of a police/suspect interaction, those with negative perceptions of police would be less likely to change their perspectives after seeing the full video. This study utilized results from 50 adults ages 18 to 74. Participants were given surveys on media consumption and a modified Global Attitudes Toward Police Scale (Hurst & Frank, 2000). Participants were directed towards one of two scenarios: 1) viewing a short, misleading clip from a longer video or 2) viewing a short, representative clip from a longer video. Participants were then given a survey to record their impression of their video clip. Participants were then shown the full video, followed by the survey. Results are expected to demonstrate that after seeing the full video, participants who have negative perceptions of police are less likely to change their understanding of the video, than participants who have neutral/positive perceptions of police. Participants’ responses after viewing both clips should be reflective of previous research on the inability to correct misinformation. People are more likely to trust information shared by friends online, than information from traditional news sources (Turcotte, 2015). As social media news expands, and becomes easier to send and receive, it is important to be cognizant of the viability of misinformation.
Keywords: bias, police, perceptions, social media
Misleading Information in Social Media News: How Bias Effects Perceptions
Guzman 201, Dominican University of California
Correcting misinformation is challenging because of the difficulty in changing biases (Ecker et al., 2013). Biased decisions are learned behaviors. People choose information that they are more frequently exposed to and from which they gather rewards (Sali, Anderson, & Courtney, 2016). Social media has become a new reward system for biased information (Neubaum et al, 2016). The difficulty of correcting misinformation multiplies as people have begun choosing social media as their preferred news platform. Social media news has focused its reporting on police (Sela-Shayovitz, 2015). Among participants who saw a misleading clip before a longer video of a police/suspect interaction, those with negative perceptions of police would be less likely to change their perspectives after seeing the full video. This study utilized results from 50 adults ages 18 to 74. Participants were given surveys on media consumption and a modified Global Attitudes Toward Police Scale (Hurst & Frank, 2000). Participants were directed towards one of two scenarios: 1) viewing a short, misleading clip from a longer video or 2) viewing a short, representative clip from a longer video. Participants were then given a survey to record their impression of their video clip. Participants were then shown the full video, followed by the survey. Results are expected to demonstrate that after seeing the full video, participants who have negative perceptions of police are less likely to change their understanding of the video, than participants who have neutral/positive perceptions of police. Participants’ responses after viewing both clips should be reflective of previous research on the inability to correct misinformation. People are more likely to trust information shared by friends online, than information from traditional news sources (Turcotte, 2015). As social media news expands, and becomes easier to send and receive, it is important to be cognizant of the viability of misinformation.
Keywords: bias, police, perceptions, social media