News Media Credibility Ratings and Perceptions of Online Fake News Exposure in Five Countries

News Media Credibility Ratings and Perceptions of Online Fake News Exposure in Five Countries

This study examined media credibility ratings as predictors of perceptions of online fake political news exposure (FNE) among internet users in five Arab countries: Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and UAE (N = 4,616). Regression models of media credibility and media use variables explained si...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journalism studies (London, England) Vol. 21; no. 16; pp. 2215 - 2233
Main Authors: Martin, Justin D., Hassan, Fouad
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Abingdon Routledge 09-12-2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
Arab countries
Credibility
Fake news
intrinsic need for orientation
media credibility
Middle East
News media
online news
Perceptions
Public opinion
Ratings & rankings
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Summary:This study examined media credibility ratings as predictors of perceptions of online fake political news exposure (FNE) among internet users in five Arab countries: Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and UAE (N = 4,616). Regression models of media credibility and media use variables explained sizeable amounts of variance in FNE in three countries (14% to 26%). The hypothesis that respondents' credibility ratings of news media would negatively predict FNE, however, was only partially supported-a relationship observed in two of the five countries. The strongest positive correlate of FNE was the belief that fake news online should be blocked. Implications for research on public perceptions of fake news and for research on media credibility are discussed.
ISSN:1461-670X
1469-9699
DOI:10.1080/1461670X.2020.1827970