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Fake Images: The Effects of Source, Intermediary, and Digital Media Literacy on Contextual Assessment of Image Credibility Online

40 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2018 Publication Status: Under Review

See all articles by Cuihua Shen

Cuihua Shen

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication

Mona Kasra

University of Virginia

Wenjing Pan

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication

Grace Benefield

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication

Yining Malloch

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication

James O'Brien

UC Berkeley

Abstract

Fake or manipulated images propagated through the Web and social media have the capacity to deceive, emotionally distress, and influence public opinions and actions. Yet few studies have examined how individuals evaluate the authenticity of images that accompany online stories. This paper details a 6-batch large-scale online experiment using Amazon Mechanical Turk that probes how people evaluate image credibility across online platforms. In each batch, participants were randomly assigned to one of 28 news-source mockups featuring a forged image, and they evaluated the credibility of the images based on several features. We found that participants’ internet skills, photo-editing experience, and social media use were significant predictors of image credibility evaluation, while most social and heuristic cues of online credibility (e.g., source trustworthiness, bandwagon, intermediary trustworthiness) had no significant impact. Viewers’ attitude towards a depicted issue also positively influenced their credibility evaluation.

Keywords: Image Credibility, Image Manipulation, Source Credibility, Intermediary, Digital Media Literacy, Online Images

Suggested Citation

Shen, Cuihua and Kasra, Mona and Pan, Wenjing and Benefield, Grace and Malloch, Yining and O'Brien, James, Fake Images: The Effects of Source, Intermediary, and Digital Media Literacy on Contextual Assessment of Image Credibility Online (August 18, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3234129 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3234129

Cuihua Shen (Contact Author)

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication ( email )

One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
United States

HOME PAGE: http://communication.ucdavis.edu/directory-of-people/featured-faculty/cuihua-cindy-shen

Mona Kasra

University of Virginia ( email )

VA
United States

Wenjing Pan

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication ( email )

One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
United States

Grace Benefield

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication ( email )

One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
United States

Yining Malloch

University of California, Davis - Department of Communication ( email )

One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
United States

James O'Brien

UC Berkeley ( email )

527 Soda Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States
510-562-0865 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://obrien.berkeley.edu

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