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Although algorithms are an essential part of how the Internet functions, there is little research about how well the general public understands these algorithms and how this (lack of) knowledge affects if and how Internet users utilize and trust different media, such as search, online news, offline news or social media. Using representative online survey samples of more than 2,000 respondents from the US and Germany, this paper will explore these relationships. The US and Germany were chosen as Germany has a strong public service broadcasting tradition, whereas the US has a strong commercial broadcasting tradition. Germany is also particularly interesting due to lower public trust in large online corporations, such as Google or Facebook. This allows us to compare both national differences in addition to individual differences. The results will contribute to furthering our understanding of algorithmic literacy and its consequences for trust and use of different media.
Bianca Christin Reisdorf, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Grant Blank, Oxford Internet Institute (U of Oxford)