"The affordances of social media potentially amplify the effects of disinformation by offering the possibility to present deceptive content and sources in credible and native ways. We investigate the effects of two aspects related to the dissemination and modality of digital disinformation: (In)auth
...
entic references to the ordinary people as sources of disinformation and the multimodal embedding of deceptive content. Using a pre-registered experiment in the United States and India (N = 1008), we found that adding decontextualized visuals to disinformation on climate change did not amplify its effects on credibility or user engagement. Mimicking ordinary citizen cues has a stronger effect than using an alternative hyper-partisan media source to communicate disinformation under certain conditions. Low levels of media trust and preferences for information from the vox populi moderate the effects of citizen-initiated disinformation, suggesting that disenchanted citizens who oppose established information may be most vulnerable to disinformation attacks from social bots or trolls." (Abstract)
more
"Social media influencers promote not only products and brands but also their opinions on serious topics like party politics or climate change. These so-called digital opinion leaders may exert a powerful impact on their followers’ political attitudes. Accordingly, we explore new directions to exp
...
lain how influencers’ communication is related to political outcomes by proposing the concept of perceived simplification of politics (PSP). We argue that PSP may fuel political cynicism but also stimulate youth’s interest in politics. We also explore important boundary conditions of these associations. We use data from three studies, a two-wave panel survey of adolescents (NT2 =294), a cross-sectional survey of young adults (N=632), and a two-wave panel survey of young adults (NT2=496) in Germany between 2019 and 2020. Findings of all three studies show that the frequency of exposure to social media influencers’ content increases PSP. In Studies 1 and 2, PSP is related to higher political cynicism, while in Study 3, this relationship is restricted to influencers’ communication about environmental topics and gender equality. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 3 suggest that PSP also increases political interest—yet this association requires a certain level of parasocial interaction (PSI) with the influencer and is contingent on specific political topics." (Abstract)
more
"Bringing together theoretical, methodological, and practical chapters, this book presents a unique opportunity for environmental communication scholars to critically reflect on the past, examine present trends, and start envisioning exciting new methodologies, theories and areas of research. Chapte
...
rs feature authors from a wide range of countries to critically review the genesis and evolution of environmental communication research and thus analyze current issues in the field from a truly international perspective, incorporating diverse epistemological perspectives, exciting new methodologies, and interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks. The handbook seeks to challenge existing dominant perspectives of environmental communication from and about populations in the Global South and disenfranchised populations in the Global North." (Publisher description)
more