Perceptions Of Media Research Articles

The Corrective Effect of Fact-Checking and Hostile Media Perceptions: A Three-Way Interaction Model between Social Media News Usage and Political Misperceptions

With the proliferation of fake news and misinformation, fact-checking journalism is booming worldwide. However, whether its corrective effect is still valid and generalizable in daily news consumption settings outside the laboratory requires further inves­tigation. In addition, some partisans argue that the content of fact-checking news has a partisan bias that makes it unfavorable to particular political figures or parties. This perceived bias is beginning to take root in some citizens’ minds. Using data from a national survey during the 2022 Korean presidential election (N = 948), we explore whether hostile media perception theory extends to biased perceptions of fact-checking news and affects its corrective effect. The results of the three-way interaction model indicate that exposure to fact-checking news helps reduce citizens’ belief in political misinformation when using social media news. However, perceived hostility to fact-checking news reduces the corrective effect of fact-checking. Specifically, those who are frequently exposed to fact-checking news but have a strong hostile media perception related to fact-checking news are less likely to assess misinformation more accurately than those with low perceived hostility when using social media news. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Navigating the high school to university transition with social media: intensity of use, sense of belonging, and meaningful change

PurposeThis study aims to explore the use and perceptions of social media among university students before and during their transition from high school to higher education.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory, cross-sectional study uses an online survey of 312 undergraduate students at a large public research university in the USA.FindingsActive participation was prevalent for connecting with peers, while passive use was high when learning about university-related topics. While at university, social media was most useful for finding campus events and connecting with classmates, but least effective for connecting with instructors. Most participants experienced meaningful change in their social media use from high school to university, which is often attributed to personal growth. Social media intensity correlated weakly but positively with usefulness and sense of belonging.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s sample from a single university limits generalizability. While similar institutions might show comparable results, variations due to student demographics and differing institutional practices could emerge. The retrospective approach for reporting high school behaviors also poses a limitation. Future research could longitudinally follow students from university search to enrollment and attendance.Practical implicationsThe study recommends universities adjust social media strategies by prioritizing social content, using student ambassadors and customizing feeds. Universities should support students both online and offline, recognizing diverse pathways to belonging.Originality/valueThis study examines the transition period by asking university students to retrospectively reflect on high school experiences and also report current experiences. It also offers insights into student perceptions of whether their social media use has changed in meaningful ways.

From Urban heritage resources: social media analytics of Johor Bahru tourists’ experience and motivation for exploring heritage buildings

ABSTRACT Assessing tourists’ social media perceptions is crucial in today's digital age. Due to its industrial reputation, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, has been overlooked for heritage tourism. This data mining study examines tourists’ experiences and motivations for visiting Johor Bahru's heritage buildings of 2,369 Google Review and Tripadvisor comments using web crawlers scripted in Python. The content analysis identified six themes associated with tourist motivation: activity, accessibility, diversity, attachment, inclusivity, and appearance. Even though their aesthetics are subdued, Johor Bahru's public historic sites thrive on accessibility and active activities, unlike magnificent royal edifices. Despite their architectural value, royal structures attracted fewer tourists due to the absence of diversity, inclusivity, and activities and restrictive measures. Maintaining the city's legacy and architectural identity requires highlighting these buildings. This study accentuates social media-driven popular views. The findings may encourage local authorities and stakeholders to strengthen Johor Bahru's identity and promote heritage tourism.

User Perceptions of News Recommender Systems and Trust in Media Outlets: A Five-Country Study

ABSTRACT The study investigates user perceptions of news media’s employment of news recommender systems (NRS) and their relation to trust in media outlets. A cross-sectional survey (n = 5079) in the United Kingdom, United States, Poland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland shows that higher algorithmic knowledge, users’ perceived skills, and news aggregator use correspond to increased perceptions that news media use NRS. Moreover, higher perceived NRS use of specific news outlets is associated with lower trust in those outlets but perceived benefits and concerns related to NRS moderate this relationship. Our findings highlight the need for media organizations to ensure a responsible and transparent use of such systems, highlight benefits for users, and address concerns to avoid misperceptions of their NRS use and maintain user trust.

Navigating fairness and boundaries: parental rule strategies and indicators of adolescents’ media overuse

ABSTRACT Balancing adolescents’ growing desire for independence with the establishment of effective media-related rules presents a complex challenge for many parents. Our study, utilising a diverse nationwide sample of 1,480 adolescents aged 13-17, investigates how adolescents’ perceptions of rule restrictiveness might explain the relationship between parental rule strategies and adolescents’ overuse of media. Indicators of overuse include dysregulated media engagement, interference of media use with other activities, and media-related physical symptoms. Structural equation modelling reveals that a higher number of rules and more frequent enforcement are associated with increased perceptions of restrictiveness among adolescents. However, adolescents tend to view rules as more reasonable when parents consistently adhere to these rules themselves, particularly in situations with numerous rules and strict enforcement. Notably, a curvilinear relationship emerges between adolescents’ perceptions of rule restrictiveness and media overuse indicators. Adolescents who perceive rules as reasonable, rather than overly restrictive or lenient, report lower levels of media overuse indicators. Our findings highlight the importance of parents establishing media use expectations that are balanced, reasonable, and that they themselves are committed to following.

Damn Their Media, Damn the Other Side: Direct and Indirect Effects of Relative Hostile Media Perception on Affective Polarization

ABSTRACT This study examined how relative hostile media perception (i.e. a perceived credibility gap between pro- and counter-attitudinal partisan media outlets) connects to affective polarization. Drawing on theoretical foundations of the corrective action and the self-effects of communication, we tested whether expressive political participation resulting from relative hostile media perceptions exacerbated affective polarization. Findings from a two-wave national survey indicated that relative hostile media perception predicted affective polarization, and this relationship was mediated by expressive political participation. This study supplements the traditional focus on news exposure with a perspective centered on audience perceptions about how partisan media contribute to affective polarization.

Event boundary perception in audio described films by people without sight

AbstractAudio description (AD) plays a crucial role in making audiovisual media accessible to people with a visual impairment, enhancing their experience and understanding. This study employs an event segmentation task to examine how people without sight perceive and segment narrative events in films with AD, compared to sighted viewers without AD. Two AD versions were utilized, differing in the explicitness of conveyed event boundaries. Results reveal that the participants without sight generally perceived event boundaries similarly to their sighted peers, affirming AD's effectiveness in conveying event structures. However, when key event boundaries were more implicitly expressed, event boundary recognition diminished. Collectively, these findings offer valuable insights into event segmentation processes across sensory modalities. Additionally, they underscore the significance of how AD presents event boundaries, influencing the perception and interpretation of audiovisual media for people with a visual impairment and providing applied insights into event segmentation, multimodal processing, and audiovisual accessibility.

일제강점기 조선 언론에 비친 관동대지진 ‘조선인학살’

This paper analyzed the trends and perceptions of the colonial Joseon media about the 'Korean genocide' that occurred during the Great Kanto Earthquake (Great Kanto Earthquake) in Japan on September 1, 1923. After the Kanto Great Earthquake, rumors such as Koreans rioting, poisoning wells, and rape were rampant, and more than 6,000 people were slaughtered. At the time of the Kanto Great Earthquake, the massacre of Koreans was ‘forbidden’ in colonial Joseon. Koreans who witnessed the massacre of Koreans in the Kanto Great Earthquake felt terrible, but after returning, they were subject to the colonial rule's surveillance. Therefore, the massacre of Koreans in the Kanto Great Earthquake was thoroughly controlled. However, at the end of September, the expression “the massacre of Koreans” was carefully reported along with reports of the massacre of the vigilante group and related to the trial, and it was covered more widely in articles such as related gossip articles and editorials. The analysis is as follows. First, reports related to the massacre of Koreans after the Kanto Great Earthquake were carefully reported with nuances that could recognize them rather than direct expressions. However, the media reported enough that readers who read reports related to the massacre could recognize this. Second, reports of trials related to the Korean genocide have been reported since October. This was published with a premise or partial report on a local Japanese article. The trial report began with the handling of Captain Amakas’ case of the Osgi massacre, but gradually, reports related to the Korean genocide expanded. Third, the fact-finding of the Korean genocide reported on activities in foreign countries such as Japan and the United States rather than colonial Joseon. Such reports on the fact-finding of the Korean genocide can be said to be close to the situation in which it is not possible to conduct systematic activities for fact-finding in colonial Joseon.

Effect of reputation and social media on the financial performance of SMEs – a comparison between selected business sectors

Research background: The growing popularity of social media increased its significance as a tool for enhancing corporate reputation. However, SMEs are less engaged in social media than large companies. For this reason, numerous SMEs miss the benefits they could derive from using the potential of social media and fail to optimize their reputation management strategies. Furthermore, substantial diversity among SMEs in their social media engagement practices is evident. Consequently, it is crucial to investigate this problem and identify SME owners' and managers’ perceptions of reputation and social media in specific business sectors. Purpose of the article: The aim of this study is to examine and quantify the effect of the importance of corporate reputations and social media on financial performance. Methods: The questionnaire was completed by 864 SMEs engaged in business activities within one of the following sectors: manufacturing, trade, services, and construction. Subjective perceptions of owners and managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were analyzed. Data collection was conducted in the four Central European countries in the years 2022-2023. The statistical hypotheses were verified using correlation analysis and linear regression modelling. Analytical software IBM SPSS Statistics no. 28 was used in the statistical evaluation of the research data set. Findings & Value added: The corporate reputation of companies is a significant factor, which has a positive effect on the acceptable profit of a company in the business sector of manufacturing, trade, construction, and services. The strongest effect is present in the sector of construction. Social media is an important factor with a positive effect on the perception of a sufficient profit of a company by each business sector except construction. The strongest effect is present in the sector of manufacturing. Corporate reputation was found to be insignificant for the perception of the ability to pay obligations (solvency) in the manufacturing sector. This effect is stronger in the construction sector in comparison to the trade and services sectors.

An investigation into the impact of personal branding and social media marketing on purchase intention among Tiktok Users in the Indonesia grilled sambal market of Jakarta

Nowadays, marketing strategies that leverage personal branding and social media significantly shape customer behavior in several industries. The effects on the Jakarta-based TikTok user market for Indonesian Grilled Sambal goods are the primary subject of this research. For this study, we used Google Forms to poll people who met certain age, TikTok, and Iben Ma familiarity/product/influencer requirements. Perceptions of personal branding and social media marketing were examined using descriptive statistics, focusing on how they affected purchase intention. The results showed that the target audience had favorable impressions and a strong propensity to buy, and the study used traditional assumption testing to validate a regression model. The results show how much of an impact these characteristics have on buying habits. The study highlights the revolutionary impact of social media marketing on influencing customer behavior and brand perceptions, drawing from theories such as Social Identity Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion. With these findings in hand, marketers targeting specific food niches can improve their social media engagement with customers. The paper goes on to say that more research into the relationship between niche market customer behavior, personal branding, and social media should be pursued.

Explaining Mainstream News Media Use in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Partisanship, Perceptions of Threat, Negative Emotions, and News Media Trust

ABSTRACT As the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States amid the 2020 presidential election campaign, the public health crisis rapidly developed into a polarizing political issue. Within the context of a politicized public health crisis, efforts to deepen a scholarly understanding of how people’s information-seeking behaviors can be understood in relation to partisanship bear timely importance. In this light, this research aims to explore the relationship between partisanship and mainstream news media use in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examines the role of perceived threat, negative emotions, and news media trust for helping to explain mainstream news media use. Analyses of data from a survey, conducted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 546), confirm that perceptions of threat, along with negative emotions stemming from perceived threat, play a mediating role between partisan identification and mainstream news media use. Moreover, this research also demonstrates that the mediated relationship between these factors varies, depending on people’s perceptions of the news media’s trustworthiness. The findings of the study contribute to deepening scholarly understanding of media consumption behaviors during times of a politicized public health crisis.

How much do LGBTQ+ Filipinos Perceive Media as Threatening? First Steps in the Development of the Perceived Media Threat Scale

How much do LGBTQ+ Filipinos Perceive Media as Threatening? First Steps in the Development of the Perceived Media Threat Scale

Trends of fear and anger on YouTube during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has been the most widespread and threatening health crisis experienced by the Korean society. Faced with an unprecedented threat to survival, society has been gripped by social fear and anger, questioning the culpability of this pandemic. This study explored the correlation between social cognitions and negative emotions and their changes in response to the severe events stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.MethodsThe analysis was based on a cognitive-emotional model that links fear and anger to the social causes that trigger them and used discursive content from comments posted on YouTube’s COVID-19-related videos. A total of 182,915 comments from 1,200 videos were collected between January and December 2020. We performed data analyses and visualizations using R, Netminer 4.0, and Gephi software and calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficients between emotions.ResultsYouTube videos were analyzed for keywords indicating cognitive assessments of major events related to COVID-19 and keywords indicating negative emotions. Eight topics were identified through topic modeling: causes and risks, perceptions of China, media and information, infection prevention rules, economic activity, school and infection, political leaders, and religion, politics, and infection. The correlation coefficient between fear and anger was 0.462 (p < .001), indicating a moderate linear relationship between the two emotions. Fear was the highest from January to March in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak, while anger occurred before and after the outbreak, with fluctuations in both emotions during this period.ConclusionsThis study confirmed that social cognitions and negative emotions are intertwined in response to major events related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with each emotion varying individually rather than being ambiguously mixed. These findings could aid in developing social cognition-emotion-based public health strategies through education and communication during future pandemic outbreaks.

From Hostile Media Perceptions to Action: The Role of Racial Empathy in the Black Lives Matter Movement

ABSTRACT In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that swept across the nation, this study aims to identify potential cognitive-motivational factors that account for the increased likelihood among pro-movement citizens to engage in BLM activism. Using a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, we examine a theoretical model grounded in the Orientation-Stimuli-Orientation-Response framework in which the racial empathy that may emerge from perceptions of a hostile information environment plays a pivotal mediating role in the path from partisan support to peaceful/confrontational forms of BLM action. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Perceiving Media Change as a Form of Media Literacy: Using a 360-Degree Video to Analyze the Mediatization of Social Life

This study focuses on the subjective perception of complex mediatization processes. To encourage the study participants to reflect on everyday media practices, a self-produced, interactive 360-degree video was used as a qualitative stimulus to make typical after-work encounters tangible before these were discussed in a group setting. Based on a qualitative evaluation, a total of 20 perceptions illustrate how people perceive media change primarily in communicative actions that are characterized by a change in empathy, which we refer to as communicative avoidance or communicative attention. By applying several dimensions of media literacy, we can conclude that communication actions are perceived from a cognitive, affective, social, and critical-reflective perspective, meaning that people can reflect, justify, and react to communicative actions or draw results from them. It shows that some aspects of media change are more apparent than others and that the level of media literacy determines the extent to which people can perceive mediatization processes.

Neutral news from in- and out-party media and attitudes toward them: integration of expectancy violations theory and hostile media perceptions

ABSTRACT The contemporary U.S. media environment is characterized by a strong partisan divide. Both Democrats and Republicans express strong distrust in oppositional media and accuse them of showing partisan bias. Clearly, this public opinion climate is not helpful to a healthy democracy. Unlike the common wisdom, these news outlets do provide neutral political coverage. Based on propositions from expectancy violation theory and hostile media perceptions, we test the effects of exposure to neutral news from an out-party outlet on violation interpretation and attitudes toward oppositional media. An online experiment (N = 610) shows that exposure to neutral news from an out-party outlet leads to violation unexpectedness and valence for Democrats and violation valence for Republicans. We also find an indirect positive effect of exposure to neutral news on attitudes toward an out-party outlet through violation valence for Democrats and Republicans. Unlike what can be expected of hostile media perceptions, these effects are more noticeable for stronger partisans. Our study also reveals different patterns of partisan reactions to neutral news from in-party outlets. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Antecedents to perceived news media importance and motivations for newspaper use: A needs-based framework

Amid widespread skepticism about news media actors and journalistic practices, questions about citizens’ use of and dependency upon mainstream news media remain ripe for investigation. This research is designed to deepen an understanding of the concept of Perceived News Media Importance (PNMI) and consider it as a factor undergirding contemporary newspaper use. To this end, this study draws on the frameworks of uses and gratifications (U&amp;G) and media system dependency theory for orienting an understanding of PNMI and its role in motivating newspaper use. Furthermore, based on the theoretical assumption that individuals’ various needs bear a capacity to shape their perceptions of media, Need for Evidence, and Need for Orientation were modeled herein as antecedents to PNMI. Analyses of data from two surveys—the first conducted in 2019 (Study 1: N = 1,077) and, the second, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (Study 2: N = 546)—confirm that PNMI not only positively predicts newspaper use but also mediates the effects of its hypothesized antecedents on newspaper use. The findings of the study highlight the utility of PNMI and related concepts for understanding citizens’ media consumption behaviors in a rapidly changing and uncertain media environment.

RURAL WOMEN PERCEPTIONS OF DIGITAL MEDIA INFLUENCE ON AWARENESS CREATION ABOUT MATERNAL HEALTH INFORMATION IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

In rural settings, access to maternal health information is often limited, contributing to disparities in maternal healthcare utilization and outcomes. The main objective of the study is to find the rural women perceptions of digital media influence on awareness creation about maternal health information in Punjab, Pakistan. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Lahore from August 2023 to January 2024. Data was collected from 350 participants using convenience sampling methods. Data collection involved the administration of structured surveys to participants, either in-person or through electronic means, depending on their accessibility and preferences. The survey instrument was designed to capture demographic information, including age, education level, household income, and parity, as well as assess participants' access to digital media, frequency of usage, preferred platforms, and perceived usefulness of digital media for obtaining maternal health information. Data was collected from 350 participants. The mean age of the participants was 32.9±6.5 years Education levels varied, with 60% having primary education, 30% secondary, and 10% tertiary education. Regarding household income, 70% fell below the poverty line, while 30% were above it. Participants reported relatively high mean scores for their engagement with digital media platforms. Social media received the highest mean score of 3.8, followed by search engines with a mean score of 3.5, and maternal health websites/apps with a slightly lower mean score of 3.2. It is concluded that digital media, particularly social media platforms, play a significant role in providing access to maternal health information among rural women, despite variations in access and perceived usefulness across demographic groups.

From script to screen

In an age of ‘deepfakes’, designing learning media and video intentionally and ethically becomes more important than ever. Emerging educational research focuses on generative large language models, which use neural networks to produce human-like text based on prompts. Yet the educational design of synthetic media, particularly AI-generated avatars, which are also currently produced from text prompts, remains less explored. This paper share insights from an ongoing evaluation of realistic, AI-generated avatars as educational presenters at a large Australian metropolitan university. Using commercially available software, we created a suite of AI-generated avatars and accompanying interactives to explore the topic of ethics in business intelligence which was delivered to approximately 1200 students across two semesters in 2022 and 2023. The aim was to provoke critical discussion around ethical decision-making with AI by immersing students in text-to-video technology as part of their learning experience. To better understand students’ perceptions of synthetic media as a stimulus for learning, we conducted four focus groups over two iterations of the course. Our multidisciplinary team also documented the design, development, and implementation challenges of AI-generated avatars. Preliminary findings suggest that clarifying design intentions is key to the effective and ethical application of AI-generated avatars. Automating video content with synthetic media to simplify certain types of educational content could be a catalyst for increased sharing and collaboration. While traditional video formats may prove a simpler choice in the short-term, this study indicates the potential of more hybrid human and nonhuman representation in certain contexts. Students were comfortable with synthetic media use and blending humans and nonhuman elements, expressing a desire for greater interaction with both. We propose a posthuman perspective on AI-generated avatars, one which acknowledges the messy and entangled nature of learning and teaching with technology, that often surfaces issues of ethics and power. To assist educators, ‘VIEW’ is outlined, a brief educational design guide for AI-generated avatars that considers aspects such as the intentions or purpose of the video, the suitability of video as a medium, implementation, and ethical questions. Finally, we suggest more critical and ethical studies on the emergence of synthetic media applications in higher education are needed.

A comparative study of expressive language usage in contemporary Ukrainian and English media

The article addresses the topical issue of using expressive syntax in mass media, which is an essential aspect of modern journalism. This topic is becoming especially important in the context of the rapid development of digital media and changes in how people consume information. Expressive syntax, as a means of linguistic expression, affects the audience's perception of content, shaping emotional reactions and attitudes. The paper analyzes how different publications use expressive syntax to achieve specific communicative goals. The authors carefully analyzed the linguistic features of two leading media resources - the British "The Guardian" and the Ukrainian "Ukrainska Pravda." They aimed to understand how these media use expressive syntax to achieve their communicative goals. The authors paid particular attention to analyzing stylistic differences in approaches to presenting information, which reflects the cultural and contextual characteristics of the audiences of both publications. On the one hand, The Guardian tends to have a more analytical and nuanced style. It uses syntactic constructions that promote deep understanding and reflection on the topics presented. On the other hand, Ukrayinska Pravda more often resorts to direct and emotionally charged syntactic constructions that help to convey the main point of the news quickly and effectively. It constantly emphasizes the importance of events for Ukrainian society. Based on the analysis conducted, the authors have concluded that expressive syntax plays a key role in shaping the perception and impact of media texts on the audience. Media outlets should find a balance between the use of expressive means and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of information. Therefore, all media professionals are advised to pay close attention to their language strategy since language is a powerful tool of social influence that can shape public opinions and sentiments.