Using Message Strategies to Attenuate the Effects of Disinformation on Credibility

ABSTRACT

In the growth of online news, the industry faces increased threats on a polarized landscape, such as online-targeted disinformation, that threaten the legitimacy of news sources. This research contributes to the theoretical advancement of crisis communication and social psychology theories and provides guidance for professionals navigating emerging forms of paracrises. Results from this experimental design study reveal that during orchestrated disinformation campaigns, an astroturf paracrisis can damage the credibility of a targeted organization. Findings share how political ideology affects perceptions of news credibility during these campaigns and how combined proactive and reactive messaging can attenuate the effects of an astroturfer across the political spectrum.

KEYWORDS:

• credibility
• political ideology
• disinformation
• online news

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erika J. Schneider

Erika Schneider (Ph.D., Missouri School of Journalism, 2021) is an assistant professor of public relations in the Newhouse School of Public Communications. She contributes to communication literature by driving research on risk perception and crisis management.

Courtney D. Boman

Courtney D. Boman is an assistant professor in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. Her primary line of inquiry is based on conducting quantitative experimental design research surrounding crisis and risk communication through persuasion, new-media effects, and message strategy.