«Priming and Fake News: The Effects of Elite Discourse on Evaluations of News Media»

Through an experiment, this study explores the effects of elite discourse about fake news on the public’s evaluation of news media. Results show that exposure to elite discourse about fake news leads to lower levels of trust in media and less accurate identification of real news. Therefore, frequent discussion of fake news may affect whether individuals trust news media and the standards with which they evaluate it. This discourse may also prompt the dissemination of false information, particularly when fake news is discussed by elites without context and caution.
By Emily Van Duyn and Jessica Collier (Department of Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin). Mass Communication and Society, 2019. DOI 10.1080/15205436.2018.1511807. Full article here.