Twitter Me This: Does News Media Reliance on Quoting From Twitter Affect Credibility and Quality Judgments?

• In Event: The Study of News and Social Media

Abstract

Although Twitter has grown into a major source of news both directly and through news media coverage, little research considers the consequences for trust in news. This study employs a large online experiment (N = 698) to test the effects of attributing quotations from various types of individuals to Twitter, as well as visual cues to emphasize that attribution. Despite relatively high statistical power, the results suggest minimal influences on evaluations of credibility or quality. The implications for media practice and the inattentiveness of news audiences are discussed.

Authors

• Michael Schmierbach, Pennsylvania State U

• Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, University of Connecticut

• Michael P. Boyle, West Chester U

• Alyssa Appelman, Northern Kentucky University