“That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

“That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion. / Goldberg, Andreas C.; Marquart, Franziska.

In: Communications, 2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Goldberg, AC & Marquart, F 2024, '“That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion', Communications. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2023-0076

APA

Goldberg, A. C., & Marquart, F. (Accepted/In press). “That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion. Communications. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2023-0076

Vancouver

Goldberg AC, Marquart F. “That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion. Communications. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2023-0076

Author

Goldberg, Andreas C. ; Marquart, Franziska. / “That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion. In: Communications. 2024.

Bibtex

@article{ec95c2fe270b404086c8d3942a57619e,

title = "“That{\textquoteright}s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens{\textquoteright} ability to distinguish factual information from opinion",

abstract = "In the current media landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to rely on trustworthy information, not least because reliable facts are mixed with dubious claims, unsubstantiated opinions, or outright lies. The ability to distinguish factual from other types of mediated information is becoming increasingly crucial, but we know little about how well-equipped citizens are to make these distinctions. In an original survey study conducted in ten European countries, we asked respondents whether they considered six different statements relating to the European Union to be factual or opinion statements. Our results show that citizens have considerable difficulties in correctly identifying both factual information and opinions. Next to pre-existing judgements, we identify media-related, political, and sociodemographic factors that influence categorisation accuracy. We discuss our findings in relation to citizens{\textquoteright} perceptions of journalistic credibility and their information literacy as well as ongoing debates about the effectiveness of fact-checkers on social media.",

keywords = "comparative research, European Union, factual information, journalism, motivated reasoning, opinions, survey research",

author = "Goldberg, {Andreas C.} and Franziska Marquart",

note = "Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by the European Research Council H2020, Grant Number: 643316 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 De Gruyter Mouton. All rights reserved.",

year = "2024",

doi = "10.1515/commun-2023-0076",

language = "English",

journal = "Communications",

issn = "0341-2059",

publisher = "Mouton de Gruyter",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - “That’s just, like, your opinion” – European citizens’ ability to distinguish factual information from opinion

AU - Goldberg, Andreas C.

AU - Marquart, Franziska

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - In the current media landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to rely on trustworthy information, not least because reliable facts are mixed with dubious claims, unsubstantiated opinions, or outright lies. The ability to distinguish factual from other types of mediated information is becoming increasingly crucial, but we know little about how well-equipped citizens are to make these distinctions. In an original survey study conducted in ten European countries, we asked respondents whether they considered six different statements relating to the European Union to be factual or opinion statements. Our results show that citizens have considerable difficulties in correctly identifying both factual information and opinions. Next to pre-existing judgements, we identify media-related, political, and sociodemographic factors that influence categorisation accuracy. We discuss our findings in relation to citizens’ perceptions of journalistic credibility and their information literacy as well as ongoing debates about the effectiveness of fact-checkers on social media.

AB - In the current media landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to rely on trustworthy information, not least because reliable facts are mixed with dubious claims, unsubstantiated opinions, or outright lies. The ability to distinguish factual from other types of mediated information is becoming increasingly crucial, but we know little about how well-equipped citizens are to make these distinctions. In an original survey study conducted in ten European countries, we asked respondents whether they considered six different statements relating to the European Union to be factual or opinion statements. Our results show that citizens have considerable difficulties in correctly identifying both factual information and opinions. Next to pre-existing judgements, we identify media-related, political, and sociodemographic factors that influence categorisation accuracy. We discuss our findings in relation to citizens’ perceptions of journalistic credibility and their information literacy as well as ongoing debates about the effectiveness of fact-checkers on social media.

KW - comparative research

KW - European Union

KW - factual information

KW - journalism

KW - motivated reasoning

KW - opinions

KW - survey research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85183195598&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1515/commun-2023-0076

DO - 10.1515/commun-2023-0076

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85183195598

JO - Communications

JF - Communications

SN - 0341-2059

ER -

ID: 396018390

Department of Communication