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News Informs and Boosts Discernment: A Replication in France and Germany

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Can the news help people be more resilient to misinformation? Altay et al. found that news use increases surveillance knowledge and awareness of true and false news, while decreasing belief in false news. We conducted a two-wave panel survey ( N = 3,395) to replicate these findings in two new countries: France and Germany. The replication reinforces the conclusions of the original study: we found that higher news consumption predicted greater surveillance knowledge acquisition across the waves, as well as greater awareness of and belief in true news stories. News consumption also increased awareness of false news stories without increasing belief in false news stories. These findings strengthen the idea that news helps people become more informed and better at discerning truth from falsehoods.

Source: The International Journal of Press/Politics

DOI: 10.1177/19401612251378969

Authors: Sacha Altay, Emma Hoes, Magdalena Wojcieszak

Institutions: University of Zurich, University of Warsaw, University of California, Davis

Language: English

Topic: Misinformation and Its Impacts

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900

Funders: European Commission, Uniwersytet Warszawski, European Research Council