The Puzzle of Misinformation: Exposure to Unreliable Content is Higher among the Better Informed

New Media & Society

54 Pages Posted: 15 Oct 2022 Last revised: 27 Sep 2023

See all articles by Alvin Zhou

Alvin Zhou

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Tian Yang

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication

Sandra González-Bailón

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication

Date Written: September 30, 2022

Abstract

Healthy news consumption requires limited exposure to unreliable content and
ideological diversity in the sources consumed. There are two challenges to this normative expectation: the prevalence of unreliable content online; and the prominence of misinformation within individual news diets. Here, we assess these challenges using an observational panel tracking the browsing behavior of N ≈ 140,000 individuals in the United States for 12 months (January–December 2018). Our results show that panelists who are exposed to misinformation consume more reliable news and from a more ideologically diverse range of sources. In other words, exposure to unreliable content is higher among the better informed. This association persists after we control for partisan leaning and consider inter- and intra-person variation. These findings highlight the tension between the positive and negative consequences of increased exposure to news content online.

Keywords: political Information, media environment, misinformation, news exposure, news use, web data

Suggested Citation

Zhou, Alvin and Yang, Tian and González-Bailón, Sandra, The Puzzle of Misinformation: Exposure to Unreliable Content is Higher among the Better Informed (September 30, 2022). New Media & Society, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4234566 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4234566

Alvin Zhou

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication ( email )

MN
United States

Tian Yang

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

Sandra González-Bailón (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://dimenet.asc.upenn.edu/people/sgonzalezbailon/

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