Media Messages Research Articles

Brazilian Immigrants’ Stigma Reduction: A Multi-Level Communication Perspective

ABSTRACT The immigration process is associated with experiences of psychological disequilibrium, and as such it is imperative to evaluate immigrants’ mental health. Yet, many immigrants may face stigma that dissuades them from seeking help. This study investigates how Brazilian immigrants in the United States reduce their mental health stigma. In-depth interviews revealed that physical and psychological proximity to new perspectives on mental health (i.e. exposure to individuals with mental illness, a culture with less perceived mental illness stigma, and positive media messages) can impact stigma management communication strategies. These changes occur in intra-, inter-, and mass communication contexts.

Examining Women’s support for birth encouragement policies in China: an extension of the influence of presumed media influence model

This study employs the influence of the presumed media influence (IPMI) model to explore how media messages and interpersonal communication indirectly affect Chinese women’s support for birth encouragement policies. Surveying 616 Chinese women of reproductive age, this study finds that exposure to media messages regarding childbirth benefits and interpersonal communication are positively correlated with the presumed influence of such media messages on others. Presumed media influence on others is further positively associated with perceived personal norms and social norms regarding support for birth encouragement policies. Perceived social and personal norms, in turn, are positively associated with Chinese women’s support for birth encouragement policies. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are examined.

A Media Literacy Education Approach to Sexual Health Promotion: Immediate Effects of Media Aware on the Sexual Health Cognitions of Young Adult Community College Students

This study evaluates the efficacy of Media Aware, a comprehensive sex education program with a media literacy education approach, for improving sexual health cognitions among 1139 U.S. community college students (ages 18–19) from 23 campuses. Students were randomized to condition (intervention or delayed-intervention control) and completed pretest and posttest questionnaires. Several main effects of the intervention were found at posttest, including reduced perceived realism of media messages, positive attitudes about risky sex, and descriptive normative beliefs about unprotected and risky sexual activity, and increased self-efficacy to use dental dams. Gender and pretest levels moderated some intervention effects. Women in the intervention group reported less identification with media messages compared to women in the control group. Students in the intervention group who reported lower pretest levels of self-efficacy to use dental dams and to refuse unprotected sex had higher posttest levels on those outcomes as compared with the control group. Students in the intervention group who reported higher pretest levels of normative beliefs about risky sexual activity had lower posttest levels on those outcomes as compared with the control group. Results suggest that Media Aware is a promising method to improve the sexual health of young adults attending community college.

Media Matters: How Information Release Shapes Monkeypox Vaccination Willingness

Background/Objectives: Despite the growing body of evidence addressing the reasons behind vaccine hesitancy, the positive role of media as a key environmental factor influencing vaccination, as well as its function in publicizing and encouraging vaccination, has been less thoroughly explored; Methods: This study focuses on the context of the current Monkeypox epidemic, examining the influence of media release channels and message framing on the public’s willingness to receive the Monkeypox vaccine. The findings are empirically validated through a survey experiment conducted in China; Results: The study reveals that both media channels—traditional TV media, official online media, and user-generated media—and media content framings, specifically thematic and episodic, significantly impact the public’s willingness to be vaccinated against Monkeypox. Notably, in the context of this public health event, individuals were more inclined to trust the episodic framing of traditional TV media and the thematic framing of official online media. Compared to thematic framing, episodic framing generally enhances respondents’ willingness to vaccinate. Furthermore, user-generated media exhibited a more negative effect on vaccination intentions during the Monkeypox epidemic, particularly when combined with episodic framing. Heterogeneity analysis indicated a significant difference in the effectiveness of official online media based on audience identity (student vs. non-student), with the student group showing a preference for official online media channels; Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of public health communication in carefully selecting media release types and message framings. Additionally, it is crucial to consider audience heterogeneity and to employ differentiated communication methods to enhance the effectiveness of vaccine promotion.

Some aspects of international cooperation and information exchange among journalists during armed conflicts: current challenges and prospects

The article examines the contemporary challenges of international journalism in the context of armed conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine. It focuses on the risks to journalists’ safety, issues of censorship and information manipulation, as well as the impact of new technologies on the timeliness and accuracy of news. The study expands existing knowledge about international journalism by proposing a new model for analyzing the interaction of political, social, and technological factors in conflict situations. Using a comprehensive case study methodology and bibliometric research, the article explores practical aspects of information exchange, including the creation of secure communication channels, adherence to ethical standards, and fact-checking. Content analysis of media messages and surveys of journalists working in conflict zones are employed in the research. The study reveals that the war in Ukraine has led to a significant decline in international cooperation due to difficulties in ensuring the credibility of information, an increase in censorship and manipulation. Particularly pressing are the issues of journalists’ safety, restrictions on access to critical information sources, and challenges in maintaining media independence. Additionally, the article highlights that armed conflicts pose numerous threats to journalists, such as risks of physical attacks, detention, and even life-threatening situations. In combat conditions, journalists often face restricted access to important information, complicating their work and impacting the quality of event coverage. These conditions necessitate new approaches to protecting journalists at both individual and institutional levels, as well as improving international safety standards and support. The findings indicate the need to develop new strategies for protecting journalists, ensuring the accuracy of information, and strengthening international media cooperation. These conclusions have broad implications for understanding modern information wars and forming effective mechanisms to counter disinformation. The article makes a significant contribution to the advancement of journalism and may be useful for journalists, scholars, policymakers, and anyone interested in safeguarding freedom of speech and developing a democratic society.

Media Literacy Skills for Promoting Sustainable Development in Rivers State

The study examined media literacy skills for promoting sustainable development in Rivers State. Three research questions guided the study. The study anchored on information literacy theory. The survey research design was adopted using a sample of 167 respondents drawn from a population of 278 lecturers in the four departments of Communication, film and media studies using proportionate sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire which was validated by experts and used for data gathering. The reliability of the instrument was established at 0.82 using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (PPMC). The study found amongst others that critical and analytical thinking, digital literacy, environmental literacy, cultural and social awareness, and collaborative communication are media literacy skills needed for promoting sustainable development. The study concluded that media literacy and education can potentially empower the citizens to be able to critically analyze and evaluate media messages, be better informed, engage, and be proactive in addressing both local and global issues that can bring about sustainable development in Rivers State. Media literacy skills were essential for the citizens to be well informed on the various types of media outlets and their roles in promoting sustainable development in Rivers State-Nigeria. The study recommended amongst others that Policymakers and curriculum planners begin to think along the lines of integrating media literacy into the school curriculum. This will help students develop a holistic understanding of media and its impact on society.

Assessing the Impact of Message Sources and Content on B2B Social Media Marketing Effectiveness

A B2B company's success in interacting with customers on social media depends mainly on its messaging strategy. In this research, we use a new method to investigate the origins of influential messages and content in the social media domain. To investigate these dynamics, we conducted four experiments to test our proposed relationships. The research results show a significant finding: Employee-generated content performs better than content created by the company when it comes to driving social media engagement. We identify two essential mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Trust can be founded on content or on engagement. This mechanism explains how message source impacts social media engagement. Furthermore, our observations revealed that employee-generated messages, especially those using emojis, had a more significant impact on customer engagement compared to company-generated messages alone. The inclusion of emojis plays an essential role in this dynamic. Finally, our findings demonstrate the benefit of including objective facts in social media posts to boost customer engagement. This finding has significant implications for B2B marketers, underscoring the importance of selecting suitable sources for social media messages to optimise engagement.

EmTract: Extracting emotions from social media

We developed EmTract, an open-source tool designed to extract investor emotions from financial social media data. We contribute a novel dataset of 10,000 financial social media messages annotated with emotion labels and improve the DistilBERT model by incorporating 4861 tokens, including emojis and emoticons. This augmentation improved the model’s accuracy by over 3 percentage points compared to the standard BERT model, while providing faster inference and reduced computational requirements. Our models and datasets are publicly available to promote broader adoption and further research in financial sentiment analysis. We validated EmTract during the 2021 “meme stock” rally, where it accurately captured spikes in emotions such as anger and disgust following trading restrictions, demonstrating the model’s practical applicability in real-world events. Additionally, heterogeneity tests show that emotions have a stronger impact on smaller, more volatile, and heavily shorted stocks, aligning with established behavioral finance theories. These findings underscore the importance of integrating emotional dynamics into market analysis, particularly for speculative assets. Our contributions represent a significant step forward in understanding the psychological drivers of financial markets and offer practical tools for future research and industry applications.

Media Literacy's Role in Democratic Engagement and Societal Transformation among University Students

ABSTRACT By providing citizens with the knowledge they need to meaningfully participate in the democratic process, the media plays a vital role in the growth and consolidation of the democratic project. Also essential is citizens’ aptitude to critically examine, assess, produce and understand media and its social role in a democracy. The current study explores the role of media literacy in democratic engagement and social change among South African university students. The paper attempts to contextualise how students’ levels of media literacy led them to political participation, critical thinking and overall contribution to social change in a post-apartheid era. The paper draws on the cognitive mobilisation theory to argue that better media literacy helps students think critically about media, and improve their political knowledge, involvement and contribution to social change. Data for this study were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with n = 30 university students who were selected through a convenience sampling strategy. Results revealed that media literacy significantly influences university students’ engagement in democratic processes and societal transformation in post-apartheid South Africa. Media literacy also enhances their political knowledge, participation and critical analysis of media messages. These findings have implications for policy and practice in media literacy education.

From ink to influence: analyzing the impact of media translations in late Qing China through media system dependency theory

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of periodicals in late Qing China through Media System Dependency theory. It emphasizes the synergy between media and translation studies, exploring how this combination influenced public discourse and catalyzed social reforms. It also focuses on how periodicals – as exclusive access to foreign knowledge – created a dependency among readers. This exclusivity and dependency empowered these publications to shape the intellectual and cultural milieu through strategically embedded translations. After analyzing cognitive, affective, and behavioral effects, this study demonstrates how media messages, particularly translations, introduced progressive concepts and advocated for social reforms, ultimately driving social and cultural shifts. By applying Media System Dependency theory, this study underlines the role of media as an agent of social change, extending insights beyond the historical context of late Qing China to contemporary media dynamics. This interdisciplinary approach contributes to a deeper appreciation of how media and translations collectively function as catalysts for cultural exchange and social transformation.

The Gender Gap in Elite-Voter Responsiveness Online

A number of important studies have documented gender gaps in the effectiveness or performance of individual representatives. Yet whether these differences are observable when it comes to responsiveness to public opinion is unclear. In this article, I examine the degree to which representatives use social media to dynamically respond to shifts in issue salience among the electorate. After combining nearly 400 bi-weekly repeated public opinion surveys from YouGov asking voters about their issue priorities, I trained a large language model to classify the universe of elected U.S. and UK representatives’ social media messages on Twitter to the same issues. Findings reveal that women representatives demonstrate greater responsiveness than their male counterparts to shifts in issue salience according to both women and men constituents. Despite an overall bias toward male constituents, female representatives play a crucial role in narrowing the gender gap by consistently aligning their attention with the issues prioritized by female constituents. These findings not only contribute to our understanding of elite-voter responsiveness but also underscore the substantive benefits that women representatives provide for all constituents.

From recovery to preparedness: an examination of resources, individual disaster communication, and anticipatory resilience capacity during the 2023 U.S. tornado season

ABSTRACT Multi-phase research is needed to understand how disaster-impacted residents maintain and adapt individual disaster communication (IDC; Spialek & Houston, 2018; Spialek et al., 2021). Residents engage in IDC when they search for, create, or share interpersonal or social media messages intended to help themselves and other individuals cope across disaster phases. This study examined how recovery-focused IDC and anticipatory resilience capacity explain the relationship between resources and preparedness focused IDC. We surveyed 417 residents who lived in 13 counties impacted by a spring 2023 tornado outbreak. Results revealed that individuals who have (a) more physical and social resources and (b) engage in more recovery-focused IDC following a disaster report higher levels of anticipatory resilience capacity in those recovery-focused messages, which in turn, leads individuals to participate in more preparedness-focused communication about potential future disasters. The findings support the development of interventions and campaigns to increase preparedness behaviors.

Culprits or Victims? Social Media Use, Mediated Ethnic Blame, and Asian American Mental Health During COVID-19

ABSTRACT The present study aims to understand whether and how social media use negatively affected Asian Americans’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We build on previous research on media framing, stigma, and stereotyping to understand whether social media messages about Asians as culprits to blame for the pandemic, direct experiences of racism, or media coverage of victims of anti-Asian hate crimes led to mental health outcomes for this racial group. We use an online survey of Asian American participants (N = 527) conducted in 2020 to test the role of (a) mediated ethnic blame (MEB), (b) direct stigma, and (c) indirect stigma in explaining the relationship between social media use and mental health among Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results demonstrate that mediated ethnic blame, but not direct or indirect stigma experiences, is associated with Asian Americans’ mental health. Implications for media framing, health communication, and journalism are discussed.

News Consumption, Partisanship, and Energy Preferences in Brazil and the United States

ABSTRACT The transition to a more sustainable energy system must consider public perceptions of energy sources and the influences that shape them. This study compares support for renewable and non-renewable sources that make up the energy grid in Brazil and the United States (US), two nations with different energy mixes, political histories, and media systems. Through national surveys, we assess how different national energy configurations impact attitudes about renewables and non-renewable sources. Then, we analyze what attitudes are influenced by each nation’s partisan identities and media consumption habits. Results indicate that attitudes reflect the fact that some energy sources are more politicized than others. In the US, polarization regarding coal and renewables manifests strong partisan differences, which are amplified by media consumption choices. In Brazil, since hydropower was adopted by both left- and right-leaning governments, the impact of partisanship on support for energy sources is more limited. Results suggest attitudes about energy are subjected to processes of partisan polarization, with media messages amplifying those effects. Findings underscore the need to invest in policies promoting media literacy and fact-based science communication, empowering the public to recognize when energy debates are manipulated to fit partisan narratives, often at the expense of evidence.

Breast milk sharing practices in emergency settings

Abstract Background In emergencies, breast milk sharing becomes essential to sustain infant nutrition when access to maternal breastfeeding is disrupted. This study examines donor motivations and assesses the impact of such initiatives on infant health outcomes during wartime. Methods This qualitative study investigated a community of breast milk donors on a Facebook platform for the month following the start of the war on October 7, 2023. We investigated two main groups participating in breast milk sharing through reflective thematic analysis of social media messages. Results A count of posts one month before and after October 7 revealed a doubling in post frequency post-7/10, emphasizing the surge in war-related posts. Two main themes emerged concerning the war: 1. Infant needs: Posts addressed various infant needs, including general necessities and those specific to war-related situations. Requests for milk sharing emerged from the second day of the war, particularly for infants whose mothers were missing or injured. Government information from the National Human Milk Bank was shared within these Facebook groups, encouraging donations for these infants. 2. Donor Motivation: Posts reflected both non-war-related and war-related motivations, with a notable emphasis on the latter. Authors, including both women and men, actively promoted the donation of human milk to conflict-affected areas. Suggestions included pumping milk specifically for war-affected infants or offering frozen human milk. Some posts also offered to collect and deliver human milk to needy infants within the affected regions. Conclusions Post frequency doubled in both Facebook groups compared to the previous month, mainly focusing on war-related topics, indicating an increased drive to share human milk with those affected by the conflict. Key messages • Breast milk sharing, crucial in emergencies, analyzed via social media, sheds light on donor motivations and impacts on infant health during conflicts. • This qualitative study investigated a community of breast milk donors on a Facebook platform for the month following the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

Analysis Of Audience Reception To Youtube Content One Percent-Indonesian Life School (In The Video Susah Ngobrol Karena Pemalu? Cara Mengatasi Kecemasan Sosial)

Social media serves as a communication tool tailored to users' needs and as a platform for disseminating health education messages to internet users. Satu Persen – Indonesian Life School utilizes its YouTube account to convey messages focusing on education and lessons not taught in schools. In this study, Stuart Hall's theory is employed to analyze how audiences respond to the educational messages from Satu Persen – Indonesian Life School in the contexts of dominant hegemonic position, negotiated position, and oppositional position. The research findings indicate that the audience consuming content from the Satu Persen – Indonesian Life School YouTube account in the video "Susah Ngobrol Karena Pemalu? Cara Mengatasi Kecemasan Sosial" have varied receptions. Seventeen informants interpret the message in a dominant hegemonic manner, one informant negotiates the position, while none interpret the message in an oppositional hegemonic position. Most informants respond positively to the content presented by the Satu Persen – Indonesian Life School YouTube account because they are able to adapt media messages to their culture, perspectives, and personal experiences. Overall, the informants align with the message conveyed by the Satu Persen – Indonesian Life School YouTube account, although they adjust one part of the message to fit their personal context. The informants, as audience members of the Satu Persen – Indonesian Life School YouTube account, perceive the figures appearing in the video as experts in the field of education, represented through the shared video content on YouTube

The effects of mass media messages, perceived susceptibility and self-rated health on public attitude towards COVID-19 in South Africa

ObjectivesSouth Africa was the worst affected country in Africa by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is important to interrogate the attitude of the populace towards the pandemic for future interventions. Therefore, this study examined effects of mass media messages, susceptibility to COVID-19 and self-rated health on the attitudes of South Africans towards the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsData was from the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) of 2021 which is a nationally representative panel survey of about 7,000 South African individuals in all the nine provinces. Analyses of data were through descriptive statistics, chi square test and logistic regression models.ResultsThe results showed that 61.28% of the resondents did not take COVID-19 test while 91.09% of them engaged in behavioral changes such as social distancing and wearing of face masks. In addition, 74.27% of the respondents had access to mass media information, 70.44% believed they have good physical health while 32.43% felt they were not susceptible to COVID-19. The chi-square results of attitude towards COVID-19 showed significant differences in access to mass media messages on COVID-19, race, and province of residence. Furthermore, respondents who had access to mass media information on COVID-19 (OR = 1.469; p = 0.001) and respondents who believed that they were susceptible to COVID-19 infection (OR = 1.443; p = 0.001) were significantly associated with increased likelihood of engagement in behavioral changes to avoid the COVID-19.ConclusionThese findings therefore emphasize the need for increased awareness and sensitization of the people about the susceptibility and adverse effects of diseases to ensure that they adopt the appropriate attitudes that will safeguard them from such diseases outbreak.

Methodology of Strengthening Students’ Media Literacy

In today’s digital age, media literacy has become an essential skill for students. The rise of social media, fake news, and information overload necessitates that students critically evaluate and understand media messages. Media literacy involves the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and communicate using various forms of media. It is not merely about learning to use digital tools, but about understanding how media influences perceptions and behavior. The growing role of media in shaping political, social, and cultural realities makes it essential to adopt methodologies that strengthen students' media literacy skills. This article explores key methodologies that educators can implement to enhance media literacy in students.

Massive Increase of Totkas on Indian Social Media

Currently, the world is experiencing revolutionary changes. It is becoming more magical and unreal due to great expansion and revolutionary inventions of internet and technology. Currently, people like brief and effective messages in the fast and furious world. Reading bulky books has become a difficult task for them as they are pacing with time in their tightly-packed and roughlyplanned life which is full of accidental events. Their busy schedule is reflected on their faces. Their communication, verbal or non-verbal is influenced largely by their stress and tension in current times. People like messages of social media in multiple forms. Social media literature is now available easily at a click of mouse or with the use of any finger of hand and scrolling any platform like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook etc. People like such literature because they can pass time reading or watching it anytime at any place including toilet or a place of worship

From online hate speech to offline hate crime: the role of inflammatory language in forecasting violence against migrant and LGBT communities

Social media messages often provide insights into offline behaviors. Although hate speech proliferates rapidly across social media platforms, it is rarely recognized as a cybercrime, even when it may be linked to offline hate crimes that typically involve physical violence. This paper aims to anticipate violent acts by analyzing online hate speech (hatred, toxicity, and sentiment) and comparing it to offline hate crime. The dataset for this preregistered study included social media posts from X (previously called Twitter) and Facebook and internal police records of hate crimes reported in Spain between 2016 and 2018. After conducting preliminary data analysis to check the moderate temporal correlation, we used time series analysis to develop computational models (VAR, GLMNet, and XGBTree) to predict four time periods of these rare events on a daily and weekly basis. Forty-eight models were run to forecast two types of offline hate crimes, those against migrants and those against the LGBT community. The best model for migrant crime achieved an R2 of 64%, while that for LGBT crime reached 53%. According to the best ML models, the weekly aggregations outperformed the daily aggregations, the national models outperformed those geolocated in Madrid, and those about migration were more effective than those about LGBT people. Moreover, toxic language outperformed hatred and sentiment analysis, Facebook posts were better predictors than tweets, and in most cases, speech temporally preceded crime. Although we do not make any claims about causation, we conclude that online inflammatory language could be a leading indicator for detecting potential hate crimes acts and that these models can have practical applications for preventing these crimes.