Perceived Competence in Detecting Mis- and Disinformation Online: Reconsidering the Third Person Effect

Year 2021, Volume: 14 Issue: 2, 514 - 528, 25.04.2021

Asuman Kutlu

https://doi.org/10.18094/josc.881441

Cited By: 1

Abstract

The third person effect coined by Davison, provides a different perspective from media effect theories as it mainly deals with beliefs about media effects rather than its direct influence on individuals. The literature on TPE has demonstrated a broad perspective in exploring perceptual bias in various media contexts as well as conditions to magnify TPE. The issue of digital disinformation has increased the number of studies as it has provided a different perspective in context of the third person effect. The threat caused by COVID-19 has led an increase in health news consumption causing a wide spread of mis/disinformation about the origin, prevention and treatment of the pandemic. Considering source credibility as a moderator in testing TPE hypothesis, people will likely to think that mis-and disinformation online will have a greater effect on others and may depend on their perceived competence in spotting mis- and disinformation online when judging its effect on oneself and others. Therefore, the research aims at exploring the way individuals perceive the effects of health-related mis/disinformation and the possible variables influencing TPE.A survey-based study of 767 Turkish internet users was conducted in January 2021. Paired simple T-test to explore third person effect and hierarchical regression analysis to investigate factors associated with TPE were performed. Results revealed that biased third-person effects existed regarding health related mis/disinformation online and perceived competence to detect mis/disinformation online and exposure to digital mis/disinformation were the significant predictors of TPE.

Keywords

Third-person effect, Misinformation, Disinformation, Digital media, Health news

Çevrimiçi Mez/Dezenformasyonun Tespit Edilmesinde Algılanan Yetkinlik: Üçüncü Kişi Etkisini Yeniden Düşünmek

Abstract

Davison tarafından alanyazına kazandırılan üçüncü kişi etkisi, medyanın kişiler üzerindeki doğrudan etkisi yerine medyanın algılanan etkilerine odaklanarak medya etki teorilerinden farklı bir bakış açısı sağlamaktadır. Literatürde üçüncü kişi etkisi farklı kitle iletişim araçlarında algısal yanlılığı ve bu yanlılığı artıran etkenleri de tartışacak şekilde oldukça geniş bir yelpazede ele alınmaktadır. Dijital dezenformasyon konusu, üçüncü kişi teorisinin yeni bir bağlamda ele alınmasını sağlayarak yapılan çalışmaları artırmıştır. KOVID-19 salgının yarattığı tehditle birlikte sağlık haberi tüketiminin artması, pandeminin nedeni, önlenmesi ve tedavisine ilişkin mez/dezenformasyonun geniş çapta yayılmasını beraberinde getirmiştir. Kaynak güvenirliği, üçüncü kişi hipotezinin sınanmasında bir değişken olarak ele alındığında, kişilerin çevrimiçi mez/dezenformasyonun diğerlerinin üzerinde daha güçlü bir etkiye sahip olduğunu düşünme eğiliminde olacağı ve kendileri ve diğerleri üzerinde oluşan etkiyi değerlendirirken, çevrimiçi mez/dezenformasyonu tespit edebilmede kendilerine duydukları güvenin etkili olabileceği düşünülmektedir. Bu nedenle araştırma, kişilerin sağlık konulu mez/dezenformasyonun etkilerine ilişkin algısını ve üçüncü kişi etkisini etkileyen olası değişkenleri ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. 2021 Ocak ayı içine Türkiye’de 767 internet kullanıcısıyla çevrimiçi bir anket uygulaması gerçekleştirilmiştir. Üçüncü kişi etkisinin tespit edilmesinde bağımlı değişken T testi ve üçüncü kişi etkisiyle ilgili değişkenlerin belirlenmesinde hiyerarşik regresyon analizi uygulanmıştır.Elde edilen sonuçlar, üçüncü kişi etkisinin sağlık konulu çevrimiçi mez/dezenformasyona ilişkin de geçerli olduğunu ve kişilerin dijital mez/dezenformasyonun tespit edilmesinde algıladıkları yetkinliklerinin ve dijital mez/dezenformasyona maruz kalma durumlarının üçüncü kişi etkisinin önemli yordayıcıları olduğunu göstermiştir.

Keywords

Üçüncü kişi etkisi, Mezenformasyon, Dezenformasyon, Dijital medya, Sağlık haberleri

References

• Antonopoulos, N., Veglis, A., Gardikiotis, A., Kostakis, R., & Kalliris, G. (2015). Web third person effect in structural aspects of the information on media websites. Computers in Human Behaviour, 44, 48-58.
• Banning, S. A., & Sweetser, K. D. (2007). How much do they think it affects them and whom do they believe?: Comparing the third person effect and credibility of blogs and traditional media. Communication Quarterly, 55(4), 451-466.
• Chapin, J. (2002). Third-person perception and school violence. Communication Research Reports, 19(3), 216-225.
• Cohen, J., Mutz, D., Price, V., & Gunther, A. (1988). Perceived impact of defamation: An experiment on third-person effects. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 52(2), 161-173. December 2, 2020 tarihinde http://www.jstor.org/stable/2749271 adresinden alındı
• Corbu, N., Oprea, D., Negrea-Busuioc, E., & Radu, L. (2020). "They can't fool me, but they can fool the others!" Third person effect and fake news detection. European Journal of Communication, 35(2), 165-180.
• Çakır, V., & Çakır, V. (2012). Üçüncü kişi etkisi teorisi bağlamında sosyal paylaşım sitelerinin kullanımı. Retrieved November 5, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292982219_UCUNCU_KISI_ETKISI_TEORISI_BAGLAMINDA_SOSYAL_PAYLASIM_SITELERININ_KULLANIMI
• Davison, P. W. (1983). The third person effect in communication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 47(1), 1-15.
• Driscoll, P. D., & Salwen, M. B. (1997). Self-perceived knowledge of the O. J. Simpson Trial: Third-person perception and perceptions of guilt. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74(3), 541-556.
• Duck, J., Terry, D., & Hogg, M. (1995). The perceived influence of AIDS advertising: Third person effects in the context of positive media content. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17(3), 305-325.
• Eisend, M. (2017). The third person effect in advertising: A meta-analysis. Journal of Advertising, 46(3), 377-394.
• Gibbon, P., & Durkin, K. (1995). The third person effect: Social distance and perceived media bias. European Journal of Social Psychology, 25(5), 597-602.
• Gunther, A. (1991). What we think others think: Cause and consequence in the third-person effect. Communication Research, 18(3), 355–372.
• Hafner, K. (2020). Fear of Covid-19 leads other patients to decline critical treatment. Retrieved November 2, 2020, from nytimes.com: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/health/coronavirus-cancer-heart-treatment.html
• Handley, L. (2018). Nearly 70 percent of people are worried about fake news as a "weapon", survey says. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/nearly-70-percent-of-people-are-worried-about-fake-news-as-a-weapon-survey-says.html
• Hoffner, C., Buchanan, M., Anderson, J. D., Hubbs, L. A., & Kamigaki, S. K. (1999). Support for censorship of television violence: The role of the third-person effect and news exposure. Communication Research, 26(6), 726-742.
• Hong, S. C. (2020). Presumed effects of "fake news" on the global warming discussion in a cross-cultural context. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/2123/htm
• Huh, J., Delorme, D. E., & Reid, L. N. (2004). The third person effect and its influence on behavioral outcomes in a product advertising context: The case of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising. Communication Research, 31(5), 568-599.
• Jang, M. S., & Kim, J. K. (2018). Third person effects of fake news: Fake news regulation and media literacy interventions. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 295-302.
• Johansson, B. (2005). The third-person effect. Retrieved December 2, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313779930_The_Third-Person_Effect
• Kutlu, A., & Doğan, E. (2020). Kesin bilgi, yayalım: Hakikat sonrası çağda yalan haberlere ilişkin Y kuşağının tutum ve davranışları. Akdeniz İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi(34), 83-101.
• Li, X. (2015). Time span pf news coverage as an antecedent of perceptual and behavioral components of third-person effect. Asian Journal of Communication, 25(2), 115-134.
• Liu, P., & Huang, L. V. (2020). Digital disinformation about COVID-19 and the third-person effect: Examining the channel differences and emotional outcomes. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343487042_Digital_Disinformation_About_COVID-19_and_the_Third-Person_Effect_Examining_the_Channel_Differences_and_Negative_Emotional_Outcomes
• Mitchell, A., Gottfried, J., Stocking, G., Walker, M., & Fedeli, S. (2019, June 5). 3. Americans think made-up news and videos create more confusion than other types of misinformation. Retrieved December 2, 2020, from Journalism.org: https://www.journalism.org/2019/06/05/3-americans-think-made-up-news-and-videos-create-more-confusion-than-other-types-of-misinformation/
• Paek, H. J., Pan, Z., Sun, Y., Abisaid, J., & Houden, D. (2005). The third-person perception as scoail judgement: An exploration of social distance and uncertainty in perceived effects of political attack ads. Communication Research, 32(2), 143-170.
• Perloff, R. M. (1999). The third-person effect research: A critical review and syhthesis. Media Psychology, 1(4), 353-378.
• Perloff, R. M. (2002). The third person effect. In J. Bryant, & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 489-506). New York: Routledge.
• Price, V., Huang, L.-N., & Tewksbury, D. (1997). Third person effects of news coverage: Orientations toward media. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 74(3), 525-540.
• Santhanam, L. (2020). American voters worry they can’t spot misleading information, poll finds. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/social-media-disinformation-leads-election-security-concerns-poll-finds
• Social media firms fail to act on Covid-19 fake news. (2020, December 5). Retrieved 2020, from bbc.com: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52903680
• Ștefăniță, O., Corbu, N., & Buturoiu, R. (2018). Fake news and the third-person effect: They are more influenced than me and you. Journal of Media Research, 11(3(32)), 5-23.
• Türkiye Nüfusu Yaş Gruplarına Göre Dağılımı 2019. (2019, November 2). Retrieved 2020, from nufusu.com: https://www.nufusu.com/turkiye-nufusu-yas-gruplari
• Wei, R., Lo, V.-H., & Lu, H.-Y. (2008). Third-person effect of health news exploring the relationship among media exposure, presumed media influence, and behavioral intentions. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(2), 261-277.
• Words we're watching: "Infodemic". (2020, December 12). Retrieved from merriam-webster.com: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-infodemic-meaning