Communication Ecologies: Analyzing Adoption of False Beliefs in an Information-Rich Environment

• In Event: Understanding the Spread and Detection of Misinformation

Abstract

Given the increasing dissatisfaction of social scientists with media exposure measures, the advancing fragmentation of information (true and false), and the proliferation of communication resources, a growing number of scholars agree that it is time to shift our focus toward perspectives that situate communication practices in a multilevel ecosystem. The current article offers a novel method to map and analyze communication ecologies – defined as the network of communication connections constructed by a communicative actor in the context of their communication environment – as social networks. We present a research that focuses on the interplay between communication ecologies and misinformation in the context of climate science and vaccine safety. In order to demonstrate the potential of communication ecologies, we report on the results of a feasibility study (N = 654) with U.S. residents. The article discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the communication ecologies approach.

Authors

• Nathan Walter, Northwestern University

• Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach, U of Southern California

• Yu Xu, U of Southern California

• Garrett Manuel Broad, Annenberg School for Communication at the U of Pennsylvania