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Third-Person Perceptions and Calls for Censorship of Flat Earth Videos on YouTube
[journal article]
Abstract Calls for censorship have been made in response to the proliferation of flat Earth videos on YouTube, but these videos are likely convincing to very few. Instead, people may worry these videos are brainwashing others. That individuals believe other people will be more influenced by media messages th... view more
Calls for censorship have been made in response to the proliferation of flat Earth videos on YouTube, but these videos are likely convincing to very few. Instead, people may worry these videos are brainwashing others. That individuals believe other people will be more influenced by media messages than themselves is called third-person perception (TPP), and the consequences from those perceptions, such as calls for censorship, are called third-person effects (TPE). Here, we conduct three studies that examine the flat Earth phenomenon using TPP and TPE as a theoretical framework. We first measured participants’ own perceptions of the convincingness of flat Earth arguments presented in YouTube videos and compared these to participants’ perceptions of how convincing others might find the arguments. Instead of merely looking at ratings of one’s self vs. a general ‘other,’ however, we asked people to consider a variety of identity groups who differ based on political party, religiosity, educational attainment, and area of residence (e.g., rural, urban). We found that participants’ religiosity and political party were the strongest predictors of TPP across the different identity groups. In our second and third pre-registered studies, we found support for our first study’s conclusions, and we found mixed evidence for whether TPP predict support for censoring YouTube among the public.... view less
Keywords
social media; false report; censorship
Classification
Impact Research, Recipient Research
Free Keywords
YouTube; conspiracy theories; fake news; flat Earth; third-person effects; third-person perceptions
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 387-400
Journal
Media and Communication, 8 (2020) 2
Issue topic
Health and Science Controversies in the Digital World: News, Mis/Disinformation and Public Engagement
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed