Evaluating the Credibility of Online Information: A Test of Source and Advertising Influence

Abstract

When the U.S. public logs on to find information, they choose from billions of Web pages produced by everyone from fringe activists to respected media outlets. Research experts advise Internet users to carefully examine a variety of cues when evaluating the credibility of online information. This study isolates 2 cues (source and advertising) that individuals might rely on when judging online information and examines whether they are used by Web audiences, at least in an experimental setting. In a 2 x??2 factorial design, participants were shown an online news story from either a high- (nytimes.com) or low- (a personal home page) credibility Web source surrounded by either high- or low-credibility advertising. It was hypothesized that, in the absence of a brand-name news source, participants would look to surrounding advertising as a secondary cue. Although source credibility was significantly tied to participants' ratings of the story, advertising credibility was not. Further, participants paid little attention to the ads, even though advertising covered one third of the Web page.