Fake News Is Anything They Say!” — Conceptualization and Weaponization of Fake News among the American Public
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12749503 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chau Tong (0000-0002-1214-0591, University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author), Hyungjin Gill (0000-0002-2478-2954, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Jianing Li (0000-0001-5478-0610, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Sebastián Valenzuela (0000-0001-5991-7364, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Hernando Rojas (0000-0002-0012-4041, University of Wisconsin–Madison) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 755-778 |
| Publication date | 2020-07-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mass Communication & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1520-5436 • E-ISSN: 1532-7825 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/15205436.2020.1789661 |
| OpenAlex | W3041491593 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 67 |
| References cited | 46 |
This study examines the articulation of public opinion about so-called fake news using a national survey (N = 510) of U.S. adults conducted in 2018. We coded respondents’ open-ended answers about what is “fake news” and found that while some respondents adopted a politically neutral, descriptive definition, others provided a partisan, accusatory answer. Specifically, the weaponization of fake news was evident in the way respondents used the term to blame adversarial political and media targets. Perceptions of fake news prevalence, partisanship strength, and political interest were associated with a higher likelihood of providing a politicized and accusatory response about fake news. Accusations were polarized as a function of partisan identity and positively correlated with affective polarization. Results are discussed in light of the linguistic distinction of the term and what it means in the context of news media distrust and polarization
Advertising · Business · Conceptualization · Fake news · Internet privacy · News media · Political science · Computer Science · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Media and Politics
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Fear and Loathing across Party Lines
Motivated Skepticism in the Evaluation of Political Beliefs
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Framing
Affect, Not Ideology
The Content and Effect of Politicized Health Controversies
The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism in Politicized Science Debates
Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election
How Elite Partisan Polarization Affects Public Opinion Formation
| Unique citing works | 67 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 13,4 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 66 |