What Influences Audience Susceptibility to Fake Health News: An Experimental Study Using a Dual Model of Information Processing in Credibility Assessment.

This experimental study investigates the effects of several heuristic cues and systematic factors on users' misinformation susceptibility in the context of health news. Specifically, it examines whether author credentials, writing style, and verification check flagging influence participants' intent to follow article behavioral recommendations provided by the article, perceived article credibility, and sharing intent. Findings suggest that users rely only on verification checks (passing/failing) in assessing information credibility. Of the two antecedents to systematic processing, social media self-efficacy moderates the links between verification and participants' susceptibility. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Influenced by Anonymous Others: Effects of Online Comments on Risk Perception and Intention to Communicate.

Guided by the health risk communication literature and the social identity model of deindividualization effects, this study examines whether and how concurrent exposure to health news articles and congruent/incongruent comments posted by anonymous others may affect news viewers' personal risk perception, societal risk perception, and intention to communicate about health risk issues. Two controlled experiments were conducted in Vietnam concerning two controversial health risk issues, including ear picking and child corporal punishment. Results showed a significant interaction effect between comments and perceived similarity on personal risk perception and societal risk perception, such that comments influenced both types of risk perception when viewers perceived that anonymous commenters were ingroup members. Results also indicated the joint effect of comments and perceived similarity on participants' intention to communicate, mediated by their personal risk perception and societal risk perception. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Nationalizing a global phenomenon: A study of how the press in 45 countries and territories portrays climate change.

This study investigates the news coverage of climate change in 45 different countries and territories. Using the news framing approach, this study identifies the connections between several national socioeconomic, governance, and environmental traits and the portrayals of climate change. Although climate change is a global issue that affects every country in the world, how the news media frame it varies from country to country. Such a variation is related to each country's economic development, climate severity, and governance. The findings of this study contribute to framing literature by assessing frame use in national contexts, filling in the gap in the application of this theoretical framework.

Meditation as panacea: A longitudinal semantic network analysis of meditation coverage in campus newspapers from 1997-2018.

OBJECTIVE: Media framing of health issues reflects public opinion and impacts readers' perceptions and behavior. This study examines how meditation - a recommended stress coping strategy for college students - is framed in campus newspapers from 1997-2018. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 494 articles were analyzed. METHODS: Semantic network analysis was used to automatically detect frames and the longitudinal trend. RESULTS: Five major frames emerged: (1) building a meditation community within a campus community, (2) meditation benefits, (3) yoga for enhancing mind and body awareness, (4) meditation techniques, and (5) secularizing meditation on campus. There is a shift in coverage from interest in religion to secular views of health benefits throughout the years. Discussions of adverse effects that have emerged from the literature were entirely absent. CONCLUSIONS: The trend of secularizing meditation practices on college campuses is evident. Emphasizing the techniques and benefits could encourage participation and build a learning community.