Examining the Relationship Between Media Literacy and Susceptibility to Misinformation
Presenter(s)
Cameron Domnick
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between media literacy and misinformation susceptibility. As technology has developed and continues to develop, the ways that people get their news and information have changed immensely. With the rapid integration of AI into search engines and social media posts, misinformation poses an increasing threat to information consumption. The study of misinformation in an ever-evolving digital world is crucial to keeping up with how misinformation is spread, why it is spread, and how it can be combatted. Media literacy is more important than ever as new forms of media, such as social media platforms, are becoming increasingly popular. An example of why media literacy is so necessary is that “the top 25 per cent COVID-19 videos containing misinformation on YouTube collectively received over 60 million views” (Van der Linden, 2023, pp. 93-94). Because of how prominent the issue of misinformation is in present day society, the relationship between media literacy and misinformation susceptibility is an important and relevant area of study. RQ: How does media literacy affect susceptibility to misinformation? The data for this study is being gathered through a quantitative Qualtrics survey that has been spread through social media, email, informational materials, and word of mouth. Though the only requirement to participate is to be over 18 years old, the majority of participants are undergraduate students under the age of 21. The survey questions consist of a basic demographic section, the Media Literacy Scale (MLS) to measure media literacy, and the Misinformation Susceptibility Test (MIST) to measure susceptibility to misinformation. This survey has 133 responses, with a minimum goal of 202 responses. All data will be collected and then analyzed using a Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient by the Creative Research Day.
College
College of Liberal Arts
Department
Communication Studies
Campus
Winona
First Advisor/Mentor
Tammy Swenson-Lepper
Start Date
4-24-2025 10:00 AM
End Date
4-24-2025 11:00 AM
Presentation Type
Poster Session
Format of Presentation or Performance
In-Person
Session
1b=10am-11am
Poster Number
24
Examining the Relationship Between Media Literacy and Susceptibility to Misinformation
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between media literacy and misinformation susceptibility. As technology has developed and continues to develop, the ways that people get their news and information have changed immensely. With the rapid integration of AI into search engines and social media posts, misinformation poses an increasing threat to information consumption. The study of misinformation in an ever-evolving digital world is crucial to keeping up with how misinformation is spread, why it is spread, and how it can be combatted. Media literacy is more important than ever as new forms of media, such as social media platforms, are becoming increasingly popular. An example of why media literacy is so necessary is that “the top 25 per cent COVID-19 videos containing misinformation on YouTube collectively received over 60 million views” (Van der Linden, 2023, pp. 93-94). Because of how prominent the issue of misinformation is in present day society, the relationship between media literacy and misinformation susceptibility is an important and relevant area of study. RQ: How does media literacy affect susceptibility to misinformation? The data for this study is being gathered through a quantitative Qualtrics survey that has been spread through social media, email, informational materials, and word of mouth. Though the only requirement to participate is to be over 18 years old, the majority of participants are undergraduate students under the age of 21. The survey questions consist of a basic demographic section, the Media Literacy Scale (MLS) to measure media literacy, and the Misinformation Susceptibility Test (MIST) to measure susceptibility to misinformation. This survey has 133 responses, with a minimum goal of 202 responses. All data will be collected and then analyzed using a Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient by the Creative Research Day.
Comments
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