“That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion
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“That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion. / Goldberg, Andreas C.; Marquart, Franziska.
I: Communications, 2024.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - “That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion
AU - Goldberg, Andreas C.
AU - Marquart, Franziska
N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by the European Research Council H2020, Grant Number: 643316 Publisher Copyright: © 2024 De Gruyter Mouton. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - In the current media landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to rely on trustworthy information, not least because reliable facts are mixed with dubious claims, unsubstantiated opinions, or outright lies. The ability to distinguish factual from other types of mediated information is becoming increasingly crucial, but we know little about how well-equipped citizens are to make these distinctions. In an original survey study conducted in ten European countries, we asked respondents whether they considered six different statements relating to the European Union to be factual or opinion statements. Our results show that citizens have considerable difficulties in correctly identifying both factual information and opinions. Next to pre-existing judgements, we identify media-related, political, and sociodemographic factors that influence categorisation accuracy. We discuss our findings in relation to citizens’ perceptions of journalistic credibility and their information literacy as well as ongoing debates about the effectiveness of fact-checkers on social media.
AB - In the current media landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to rely on trustworthy information, not least because reliable facts are mixed with dubious claims, unsubstantiated opinions, or outright lies. The ability to distinguish factual from other types of mediated information is becoming increasingly crucial, but we know little about how well-equipped citizens are to make these distinctions. In an original survey study conducted in ten European countries, we asked respondents whether they considered six different statements relating to the European Union to be factual or opinion statements. Our results show that citizens have considerable difficulties in correctly identifying both factual information and opinions. Next to pre-existing judgements, we identify media-related, political, and sociodemographic factors that influence categorisation accuracy. We discuss our findings in relation to citizens’ perceptions of journalistic credibility and their information literacy as well as ongoing debates about the effectiveness of fact-checkers on social media.
KW - comparative research
KW - European Union
KW - factual information
KW - journalism
KW - motivated reasoning
KW - opinions
KW - survey research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85183195598&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/commun-2023-0076
DO - 10.1515/commun-2023-0076
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85183195598
JO - Communications
JF - Communications
SN - 0341-2059
ER -
ID: 396018390