Should I trust or should I go? How people perceive and assess the quality of science communication to avoid fake news

Andrea Rubin (), Sonia Brondi and Giuseppe Pellegrini
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Andrea Rubin: Observa Science in Society
Sonia Brondi: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Giuseppe Pellegrini: Observa Science in Society

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2023, vol. 57, issue 5, No 25, 4455-4476

Abstract: Abstract This paper investigates how citizens of five European countries (Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain) enquire about scientific issues, how they rate scientific information on climate change and vaccines in terms of quantity and quality, and their strategies for overcoming perceived defects. We conducted a public consultation involving almost 500 citizens and addressed controversial science-related topics. Discussions were qualitatively content analyzed. The public consultations revealed the prevalence of traditional media as a source of scientific information, and the results presented a general perception of inadequate, imprecise, and insufficient scientific communication. Finally, we show how traditional media are still the most frequently used channels and that personal criteria prevail in the evaluation of the reliability of information sources.

Keywords: Misinformation; Fake news; Science communication; Public consultation; Vaccine; Climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-022-01569-5

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