<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper focuses on one’s perception of factuality in selected online news media. A group of university students of English were approached and presented with ten statements about Sweden and asked to evaluate their truthfulness. Half of the group (informed respondents) were then advised on the ways media use to infer a narrative onto the reader, potentially influencing the way they view events, while the other half (uninformed respondents) were not made aware of this fact. The respondents were then presented with a news report describing a specific event that took place in Sweden; however, half of each group were asked to read its tabloid description while the other halves were shown the event as reported by a broadsheet (both online). They were then asked to reevaluate the statements they were presented with before and decide whether their opinions changed based on the article they had just read. The results suggest that one is inclined to believe what they read, regardless whether the source seems reliable and whether they are aware of the fact media might manipulate their audiences.</p></abstract>

The paper focuses on one’s perception of factuality in selected online news media. A group of university students of English were approached and presented with ten statements about Sweden and asked to evaluate their truthfulness. Half of the group (informed respondents) were then advised on the ways media use to infer a narrative onto the reader, potentially influencing the way they view events, while the other half (uninformed respondents) were not made aware of this fact. The respondents were then presented with a news report describing a specific event that took place in Sweden; however, half of each group were asked to read its tabloid description while the other halves were shown the event as reported by a broadsheet (both online). They were then asked to reevaluate the statements they were presented with before and decide whether their opinions changed based on the article they had just read. The results suggest that one is inclined to believe what they read, regardless whether the source seems reliable and whether they are aware of the fact media might manipulate their audiences.

Perception of factuality in selected online news media

Journal of Language and Cultural Education

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Perception of factuality in selected online news media"}

The paper focuses on one’s perception of factuality in selected online news media. A group of university students of English were approached and presented with...

Perception of factuality in selected online news media

Published Online: Nov 11, 2020

Page range: 134 - 148

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jolace-2020-0008

Keywords
perception, factuality, online media, broadsheet, tabloid

© 2020 Eva Eddy, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Perception of factuality in selected online news media

Published Online: Nov 11, 2020

Page range: 134 - 148

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jolace-2020-0008

Keywordsperception, factuality, online media, broadsheet, tabloid

© 2020 Eva Eddy, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
perception, factuality, online media, broadsheet, tabloid