Credibility and Trust
Policymakers, scientists, and journalists have worried for years about declining public trust in their institutions. Are new technologies like social media contributing to this decline, or are they convenient scapegoats for broader forces in society? We discuss research on how populist politics and other anti-elite, anti-institutional movements are intersecting with declining public trust and the rise of alternative epistemologies.
Live Research Review
Teaching & Learning
Explore course modules, handouts, teaching tools and syllabi about dis- and misinformation.
Latest News on Credibility and Trust
The modern media ecosystem in which the public seeks truthful information and trustworthy sources is increasingly dominated by large-scale online social media and communication platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) as well as messaging apps, which operate alongside traditional news sources. However, at the same time, this hybrid ecosystem is plagued with people’s lack of trust […]
By Truth & Trust Online
In the spring, as the virus swept across the world and billions of people were compelled to stay at home, the popularity of one social media app rose more sharply than any other. By late March, usage of WhatsApp around the world had grown by 40%. In Spain, where the lockdown was particularly strict, it […]
By William Davies
A significant body of research over the past decade has shown how online platforms in China are routinely censored to comply with government regulations. As Chinese companies grow into markets beyond China, their activities are also coming under scrutiny. For example, TikTok, a video-based social media company, has been accused of censoring content on its […]
By Jeffrey Knockel, Christopher Parsons, Lotus Ruan, Ruohan Xiong, Jedidiah Crandall, and Ron Deibert
Newton’s professional arc, from enthusiastic tech beat reporter to skeptical industry investigator, matches the trajectories of a number of journalists in recent years. The 2016 presidential election in particular prompted a change in worldview against Facebook and the power wielded by Big Tech. The media had learned, perhaps belatedly, the cost of taking Facebook at […]
By Jacob Silverman
Three more local newspapers have made changes to how they use mugshot galleries: the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and al.com. The Journal Star responded to a tweet with the news that it took its mugshot gallery down to reevaluate it. And the Post-Dispatch’s editor, Gilbert Bailon, told Poynter in an email […]
By Kristen Hare
The modern media ecosystem in which the public seeks truthful information and trustworthy sources is increasingly dominated by large-scale online social media and communication platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) as well as messaging apps, which operate alongside traditional news sources. However, at the same time, this hybrid ecosystem is plagued with people’s lack of trust […]
By Truth & Trust OnlineIn the spring, as the virus swept across the world and billions of people were compelled to stay at home, the popularity of one social media app rose more sharply than any other. By late March, usage of WhatsApp around the world had grown by 40%. In Spain, where the lockdown was particularly strict, it […]
By William DaviesA significant body of research over the past decade has shown how online platforms in China are routinely censored to comply with government regulations. As Chinese companies grow into markets beyond China, their activities are also coming under scrutiny. For example, TikTok, a video-based social media company, has been accused of censoring content on its […]
By Jeffrey Knockel, Christopher Parsons, Lotus Ruan, Ruohan Xiong, Jedidiah Crandall, and Ron DeibertNewton’s professional arc, from enthusiastic tech beat reporter to skeptical industry investigator, matches the trajectories of a number of journalists in recent years. The 2016 presidential election in particular prompted a change in worldview against Facebook and the power wielded by Big Tech. The media had learned, perhaps belatedly, the cost of taking Facebook at […]
By Jacob SilvermanThree more local newspapers have made changes to how they use mugshot galleries: the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and al.com. The Journal Star responded to a tweet with the news that it took its mugshot gallery down to reevaluate it. And the Post-Dispatch’s editor, Gilbert Bailon, told Poynter in an email […]
By Kristen Hare 
July 15, 2020 - July 17, 2020