Title

Social and heuristic approaches to credibility evaluation online

Summary

This paper explores how individuals assess information and source credibility in the context of the vast online information landscape. By analyzing focus group data from 109 participants, the study challenges the assumption that people independently evaluate credibility through careful consideration. Instead, it finds that users often depend on others for credibility assessments, utilizing group-based tools and cognitive heuristics rather than engaging in systematic processing, suggesting new directions for credibility theory, research, and practice.

 

َAuthor

Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., & Medders, R. B.

Year

2010

َThematic Area

Communication Studies

Topic

Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation

Country

Global

Region

Global

Misinformation Combatting

Misinformation Source

Place Published

APA 7th End Text Citation

Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., & Medders, R. B. (2010). Social and heuristic approaches to credibility evaluation online. Journal of Communication, 60(3), 413–439. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01488.x