Trusting the Facts: The Role of Framing, News Media as a (Trusted) Source, and Opin-ion Resonance for Perceived Truth in Statistical Statements

Author(s)
Hajo Boomgaarden, Elina Lindgren, Torun Lindholm, Rens Vliegenthart, Alyt Damstra, Jesper Strömbäck, Yariv Tsfati
Abstract

Scholars have raised concerns that on many issues, citizens are reluctant to trust factual evidence and statistics. One factor that has been shown to impact the perceived truth in statistics is how they are presented, where negatively framed statistics are perceived as truer than positive. This study explores when this bias applies and not. Results from a survey experiment confirm the presence of a negativity bias in truth perceptions, but also that effects are heterogeneous and moderated by, in particular, the recipients’ preexisting opinions. These findings provide valuable information to public actors responsible for disseminating factual information to diverse publics.

Organisation(s)
Department of Communication
External organisation(s)
University of Gothenburg, Stockholm University, University of Amsterdam (UvA), University of Haifa
Journal
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
No. of pages
25
ISSN
1077-6990
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221117117
Publication date
08-2022
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
508007 Communication science
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Communication
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/trusting-the-facts-the-role-of-framing-news-media-as-a-trusted-source-and-opinion-resonance-for-perceived-truth-in-statistical-statements(c24d0e8a-3d57-4403-8c9e-8bbd8b5494df).html