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Article published In: Discourses of Fake News
Edited by Scott Wright
[Journal of Language and Politics 20:5] 2021
► pp. 783–802

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Poisoning the information well?

The impact of fake news on news media credibility

ORCiD logo with link | Nanyang Technological University Singapore
 | Nanyang Technological University Singapore
 | Boston College
 | Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Published online: 16 July 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.21029.tan
Abstract
This study examines the impact of fake news discourse on perceptions of news media credibility. If participants are told they have been exposed to fake news, does this lead them to trust information institutions less, including the news media? Study 1 (n = 188) found that news media credibility decreased when participants were told they saw fake news, while news credibility did not change when participants were told they saw real news. Study 2 (n = 400) found that those who saw fake news – and were told they saw a fake news post – decreased their trust in the news media while those who saw fake news and were not debriefed did not change their perceptions of the news media. This shows that the social impact of fake news is not limited to its direct consequences of misinforming individuals, but also includes the potentially adverse effects of discussing fake news.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The problem of fake news
  • 3.The rise of fact-checking
  • 4.Conducting experiments
    • 4.1Study 1
      • 4.1.1Procedure
      • 4.1.2Analysis and results
    • 4.2Study 2
      • 4.2.1Analysis and results
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
References (56)
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