How does Facebook news use lead to actions in South Korea? The role of Facebook discussion network heterogeneity,political interest,and conflict avoidance in predicting political participation

Employing survey data collected in South Korea (N?=?470), this study investigated whether and how Facebook users’ news use promotes their offline political participation. Results showed that Facebook news use indirectly influenced political participation through discussion network heterogeneity. This indirect relationship was conditional on Facebook users’ political interest and conflict avoidance. For people who are highly interested in politics but less conflict avoidant, the frequency of Facebook news use is more likely to boost political discussions with heterogeneous others, which contributes to facilitating their participation in offline political activities. The implications of these results were discussed.     

Encountering “Difference” in the Contemporary Public Sphere: The Contribution of the Internet to the Heterogeneity of Political Discussion Networks

This study explores the intersection of media use, political discussion, and exposure to political difference through a focus on how Internet use might affect the overall heterogeneity of people's political discussion networks. Advanced and tested herein is the inadvertency thesis, which theorizes that limitations of selective exposure processes combined with weakened social boundaries found in the online environment suggest that people may be exposed to at least some additional political difference online, if only inadvertently. Hierarchical regression and mediation analyses confirm that online political discussion (directly) and online news (directly and indirectly) bear small yet significant relationships to the overall heterogeneity of political discussion networks, and that partisanship moderates the relationship between online political discussion and political discussion network heterogeneity.     

Participatory or deliberative democracy? Exploring the mediation effects of perceived online deliberation and online interactive activities on social outcomes

Using the structural equation modeling method (N = 811), this study explores the structural relationships among online news consumption, political participation and social trust, with a focus on the mediating effects of online users’ deliberative perceptions and news-related online interactive activities. The analysis confirms that users’ perceptions of online deliberation exert a significant mediating effect on users’ levels of news consumption, political participation, and social trust. Users’ interactive civic messaging behaviors, on the other hand, solely enhance participatory intentions. The findings also show that the consumption of political news and the consumption of entertainment news have different effects on users’ perceptions of online deliberation, social trust, and political participation. Specifically, while political news has a direct and relatively strong influence on participation, entertainment news has a limited and indirect effect on participation. Online interactive activities are negatively associated with users’ perceived competency for online deliberation. Further implications of the study are also discussed.     

Campaign Ads, Online Messaging, and Participation: Extending the Communication Mediation Model

Political communication researchers have devoted a great deal of attention to the role of political advertising, the Internet, and political discussion in civic and political life. In this article, we integrate and extend this research by developing a campaign communication mediation model of civic and campaign participation. Two data sets are merged for this inquiry: (a) content-coded ad-buy data on the placement of campaign messages on a market-by-market and program-by-program basis and (b) a national panel study concerning patterns of traditional and digital media consumption and levels of civic and campaign participation. Exposure to televised campaign advertising is estimated by developing an algorithm based on the market and program placement of specific ads and geocoded survey respondents' viewing of certain categories of television content in which these ads were concentrated. Structural equation models reveal that advertising exposure drives online news use in ways that complement conventional news influences on political discussion and political messaging. However, campaign exposure emphasizing "attack" messages appears to diminish information seeking motivations via broadcast and print media, yet only indirectly and weakly suppresses participation in civic and political life. Further, alternative specifications reveal that our original model produces the best fit, empirically and theoretically. We use these insights to propose an O-S-R-O-R (orientations-stimuli-reasoning-orientations-responses) framework as an alternative to the longstanding O-S-O-R model in communication and social psychology.     

Communication Content and Knowledge Content Matters: Integrating Manipulation and Observation in Studying News and Discussion Learning Effects

The present study reviews problems in the political learning literature, including ambiguous causality and a lack of specificity in linking communication content to learning outcomes. As a partial solution, our study of media and discussion influence incorporates both manipulated and observed aspects of mass and interpersonal communication. Results indicate that beyond (and often more important than) experimental manipulations, selection processes in news use and variations in the content of political discussions within exposure conditions matter for political knowledge. However, findings vary in predictable ways depending on the form of knowledge—overall factual knowledge, issue‐specific knowledge, or knowledge structure density. These results suggest that the process of political learning via communication is more complex than it is often treated empirically.     

The influence of online forum and SNS use on online political discussion in China: Assessing “Spirals of Trust”

Echoing the significance of mobile online networks in fueling the Arab Spring, the present study seeks to better understand social media influences in China by studying political activity among Chinese netizens. A survey of Chinese college students examines the influence of online social networks in the context of political attitudes and political participation. Study results reveal a moderate but positive impact of online forum and social networking site use on online political discussion. Implications for political change in the social networking era, particularly in regimes that practice Internet censorship like China’s, are discussed.     

Selecting Serious or Satirical,Supporting or Stirring News? Selective Exposure to Partisan versus Mockery News Online Videos

The present investigation combines cognitive dissonance theory with entertainment-education frameworks to study selection and effects of news. Selective exposure to satirical and partisan news was examined with online clips to test hypotheses on overcoming resistance to persuasive messages. An experiment (n = 146) presented news choices, varied in stance (conservative vs. liberal) and format (serious partisan news vs. satirical news). Results show political interest fosters selection of serious partisan news. Clips with partisan alignment were more frequently selected; only for the satirical news clips, Democrats did not exhibit such confirmation bias. Selecting satirical news affected internal political efficacy, and selecting online news clips induced attitude reinforcement according to message stance.     

How informed are messaging app users about politics? A linkage of messaging app use and political knowledge and participation

Mobile messaging apps, such as Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, were unique campaign and information platforms in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This study assesses how using such apps for campaign information is related to political knowledge and participation. Data from an online survey conducted prior to the election indicate that using messaging apps for news is positively related to knowledge miscalibration. Knowledge miscalibration is positively related to offline and online political participation. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of messaging apps in the political process.     

What Is Second Screening? Exploring Motivations of Second Screen Use and Its Effect on Online Political Participation

This study focuses on second screening for news, a hybrid media process that combines watching news on television and a second, web‐connected screen (i.e., smart‐phone, laptop). Based on U.S.‐national, 2‐wave panel data, the paper (a) examines people's motivations to engage in second screen use, and then (b) advances the relationship between second screening and online political behaviors. Discussing and pursuing further information are both central motivations for second screen use. Furthermore, results suggest second screening for news is a significant predictor of online political participation and a key link between TV news and political engagement as this relationship is fully mediated. The study advances theoretically and empirically ways in which an informed public opinion may partake of a more engaged democracy.     

"Carrying Online Participation Offline"—Mobilization by Radical Online Groups and Politically Dissimilar Offline Ties

This study analyzes survey data obtained from members in neo-Nazi and environmentalist discussion forums. It assesses the links between participation in radical and ideologically homogeneous online groups and two forms of political engagement (Movement Support and Movement Promotion). This study also tests whether perceived political dissimilarity of offline friends and family (core ties) and of more distant interpersonal associates (significant ties) encourages or thwarts political engagement and whether it moderates the influence exerted by online groups. As expected, political engagement among the analyzed respondents increases with online participation, also controlling for extremism, political discussion and news media use. Although dissimilar core ties neither encourage nor discourage political engagement, they moderate the mobilizing influence from neo-Nazi and radical environmentalist online groups. Dissimilar significant ties, in turn, do not directly affect political engagement and do not interact with online participation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Political Correlates of Local News Media Use

Despite the crucial role that local news media play in studies of community and community integration, research on local media effects often is overshadowed by a concern with the effects of national media (Friedland & McLeod, 1999). This study examines the political correlates of attention to local news, focusing on evaluations of journalists and news media, political knowledge, and political participation. Analyses of survey data collected from a probability sample in Seattle, WA ( N = 456) indicate nuanced relationships between attention to local news and evaluations of journalists and news media. Attention to news on television and in newspapers enhanced perceptions of knowledge, but it was only attention to newspaper local news that promoted political participation. Of particular note is the fact that both positive and negative evaluations led to participation, suggesting that unfavorable views of the press can invigorate democracy.     

The impact of online user-generated satire on young people’s political attitudes: Testing the moderating role of knowledge and discussion

This study examines the impact of online user-generated satirical content on young people’s political attitudes in the case of the 2012 Chief Executive election in Hong Kong. During the election, the unpopularity of the candidates and several candidate-related scandals led to the proliferation of online user-generated satire. This study asks whether exposure to such content affected young people’s candidate evaluations. More important, it examines whether online satire exposure also influenced attitude toward the electoral system. It is further hypothesized that political knowledge and interpersonal discussion may facilitate processes of elaboration that allow people to develop critiques of the electoral system based on the candidate-centered satire. Analysis of a survey on university students finds that online satire exposure did relate significantly to candidate evaluation, while a positive relationship between online satire exposure and critical attitude toward the electoral system exists among respondents who discussed the election with others. Contrary to expectation, ability to identify individual politicians, a type of political knowledge, undermined the linkage between online satire exposure and critical attitude toward the election.     

Social media and expressive citizenship: Understanding the relationships between social and entertainment expression on Facebook and political participation

Substantial research has explored the political significance of social media use in the context of collective actions. Yet much remains unknown about whether common, day-to-day, nonpolitically oriented activities on social media relate to political engagement. Focusing on Facebook, the primary social media platform for most Americans, this study investigates whether and how social and entertainment expression on the site are associated with political participation among a diverse online sample of American adults. Results show that social and entertainment expressive Facebook use are indirectly associated with political participation through political communication in the form of interactive political expression on the site. In addition, findings demonstrate that social expressive use is also conducive to political participation via offline political talk, but entertainment expressive use is not significantly related to political talk in offline settings. Further analysis shows that the interactions between political interest and each of the expressive uses are largely insignificantly related to political communication and participation. Overall, the study’s findings help to clarify the distinctions between the two types of nonpolitical Facebook use and the underlying process by which these uses contribute to political participation.     

Political YouTube Channel Reputation (PYCR): Development and validation of a multidimensional scale

Although YouTube is driving change in the news and information environment and earning a reputation as an alternative media, there is a lack of research examining what determines people’s reputational judgments on YouTube’s political channels. Based on in-depth interviews with 32 experts and empirical findings from 380 adults, this research identified factors that impact YouTube users’ reputation perception of political channels and developed a scale. The results showed that the Political YouTube Channel Reputation (PYCR) scale comprises four distinctive dimensions: news credibility, political ideology, user-oriented communication, and quality management. The reliability and validity of the scale were assessed, using exploratory and confirmatory analyses and construct validity. The PYCR scale has a variety of potential applications for users, political influencers, and YouTube, and it can serve as a theoretical framework for future empirical research in this novel and emerging area.     

The impact of the Internet on political attitudes in Kuwait and Egypt

This study reports the responses of 445 university students, 242 (54%) from Egypt and 203 (46%) from Kuwait, to a questionnaire exploring the influence of the length of time a person spends on the Internet, their reasons for using the Internet and the use of Internet applications on political efficacy, engagement and knowledge. Data were collected before the political unrest in Egypt took place. The study finds that Internet use for the reason of self-expression has a negative impact on political efficacy. The use of Facebook, Twitter and blogs as Internet applications, together with Internet use for information, positively predict political engagement. The discussion presented relates the results to the political upheavals currently transforming the Arab world and its politics.     

Uncovering the Structural Underpinnings of Political Discussion Networks: Evidence From an Exponential Random Graph Model

How do individuals structure their political discussion networks, and what factors systematically shape such patterns? While much research has focused on the effect of personality traits and one's motivations, abilities, and opportunities, network‐structural factors present different principles of tie formations. Evidence from an Exponential Family Random Graph Model and the meta‐analysis of an Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) from 20 different groups' networks indicated that the pattern of political discussions was shaped by general discussion and network‐endogenous structural processes. Results suggest that informal discussions of individuals serve as the important foundations of political behavior, and the processes of citizens' everyday political interactions emerge through complex interactions that cannot be regressed to mere individuals' predispositions or pure social selection processes.     

Is It Talking,Thinking, or Both? A Lagged Dependent Variable Model of Discussion Effects on Political Knowledge

This study extends existing research on political discussion's influence on political knowledge in two ways. First, it expands the measures of discussion-related cognition to include discussion elaboration and perspective taking. Second, it employs panel data, which permit stronger causal inferences than cross-sectional studies. Our findings indicate that, even controlling for prior knowledge, interest, news use, and news elaboration, political discussion frequency and discussion elaboration are positively related to political knowledge. However, perspective taking is unrelated to political knowledge.     

The use of Facebook for political commentary in South Africa

The use of the Internet, and especially social media networks, is becoming increasingly relevant for 21st century politics, not only for political campaigning purposes, but also as a platform to encourage the public to engage in political discourse. This study considers comments posted on two South African political party Facebook sites: the African National Congress’ (ANC); and the Democratic Alliance’s (DA). It examines how both the South African public and the political parties are using the site for discussion, debate and opinion formation. The study also investigates the perceived benefits and challenges that are offered to members of the Facebook groups. According to the findings, the public are using the Facebook site(s) to engage in discussion of a political nature as well as using the platform to connect with each other and share political information in new ways. However, it is this article’s contention that the two political parties are not fully capitalising on the potential offered by Facebook.     

Just Laugh! You Don't Need to Remember: The Effects of Entertainment Media on Political Information Acquisition and Information Processing in Political Judgment

This study investigates whether the entertainment media produce different patterns of political information acquisition and information processing (i.e., online- vs. memory-based information processing) in making political judgments (i.e., evaluation of a political actor) compared to the news media. Using an adult sample (aged 18–64 years), the study adopts an experimental design using the collections of real news and entertainment programs ( The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ) on the topic of the U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Chief Justice nomination processes in addition to a baseline group exposed to science documentaries. The results indicate that compared to news media, entertainment media are less effective in acquiring factual information, particularly in retaining issue and procedure knowledge. The study, for the first time, reveals that entertainment media facilitate online-based political information processing, whereas news media promote memory-based political information processing. The implications for the methodological and theoretical development of the impact of entertainment media and for citizen competence and participation in the recent changes in the political information environment are discussed.     

Social media use,political affect,and participation among university students in urban China

Although the role of affects and emotions in political participation has attracted much scholarly attention, few studies have examined whether and how media and communications can be the sources of political affects. This study argues that social media are not only information channels; they can also be effective in communicating feelings and emotions. Social media use may contribute to political affects, which in turn impinge on civic and political participation. In addition, political affects may moderate the effects of social media use on political participation. Based on a survey of university students in Guangzhou, China (N = 897), this study finds that, under China’s networked authoritarianism, political communication via social media is related to positive affects toward the government and society, while connection with activists via social media is related to negative affect. Positive and negative affects have different impact on different types of participation. Negative affects strengthen the connection between social media use and participation. The roles of three discrete negative emotions – anger, anxiety and fear – are also explored.