I specialize in social scientific research about political communication, news audiences, and media technology in multiple national contexts. Please visit matthewbarnidge.com to learn more about me. Address: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Prevalent theory explaining why and how people encounter political difference on social media pla... more Prevalent theory explaining why and how people encounter political difference on social media platforms ascribes an important role for weakened geographic boundaries. Yet, research has yet to test the role of geography in producing these encounters. This study fills that gap in the literature by testing the proposition that the more a person moves, the more political difference they will encounter on social media platforms. To do so, the study offers a constructive critique and amendment of theory to incorporate geographic mobility and geographic difference in political discussion. Then, drawing on a national online survey sample reflecting the target population of adult internet users in the United States (N = 1493), it uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the relationships between these variables and other dimensions of difference in political discussion on social media platforms. Results show geographic mobility is indirectly related to political difference through geographic difference. Results are discussed in light of their implications for our understanding of how media technologies contribute to political communication in contemporary American society.
Scholarship on audience fragmentation typically takes one of two approaches: The micro-level anal... more Scholarship on audience fragmentation typically takes one of two approaches: The micro-level analysis of individuals' selective exposure to partisan news, or the macrolevel analysis of audience overlap. To bridge the gap between these levels of analysis, we introduce the concept of attention centrality as a set of macro-to-micro measures that characterize how individual news media selection is situated within networks of public attention. Relying on an online panel survey conducted in the United States (N ΒΌ 1,493), we examine the relationship between three indicators of respondents' attention centrality (closeness, betweenness, and reach) and the partisan valence of their news selections. The study finds different patterns of results for the three indicators of attention centrality, indicating that partisan news media are not uniformly isolated to the periphery of public attention. Results are discussed in light of conversations about selective exposure and audience overlap in the United States and around the world.
Some people live in social media "news deserts," while others are embedded in online networks tha... more Some people live in social media "news deserts," while others are embedded in online networks that are rich in news content. These news deserts represent a new form of digital inequality-distinct from problems of access, resources, or civic skills-that could foreclose one of the ways social media are believed to contribute to informing citizens and engaging them in democratic processes: providing opportunities for incidental news exposure. This study investigates incidental exposure on social media platforms, drawing on an online survey administered just before the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493). The study finds that even after controlling for key individual-level factors, characteristics of social media discussion networks play a role in explaining variation in incidental exposure. The results are discussed in light of prevailing theory about incidental exposure, public engagement, and digital inequalities.
The communication mediation model asserts that the effects of news use on political participation... more The communication mediation model asserts that the effects of news use on political participation are mostly indirect, mediated through discussion. Recent research has shown that this mediation process is stronger in countries where freedom of the press and expression are also greater. Relying on data collected during election cycles in seventeen countries between 2013 and 2018, we examine how additional country-level factors, including political freedom and digital infrastructure, moderate the indirect relationship between news use and political participation via political talk. Results provide evidence that these factors condition both outcomes, but in different ways. For protest, two of three country-level indices moderate individual-level variation in the pathway between political talk and protest. For voting, two of three country-level indices moderate aggregate-level variation in the pathway between news use and political talk. Results are discussed in light of their implications for the communication mediation model and comparative political communication research.
Promoting public knowledge about climate is important for garnering support for climate-change po... more Promoting public knowledge about climate is important for garnering support for climate-change policy, and researchers have begun to study the effectiveness of new technologies as learning tools. News organizations are increasingly producing immersive journalism, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), and this study tests whether VR news can be an effective tool for learning about climate change. Based on results from a controlled, in-person laboratory experiment comparing an immersive VR news story to 360Β°-video and text-with-images versions, we find no main effects on the learning outcomes. However, we do find indirect effects on cognitive elaboration, which are conditional on preexisting knowledge about climate change. Results are discussed in light of their implications for theory about learning in multimedia environments, as well as their implications for the science of science communication. Scientific issues such as climate change are at the forefront of politics and policy making in democratic societies around the world, and particularly in the United States, where public opinion about climate change is divided, and climate denial has become a full-blown political stance for one of the two major parties (Funk & Kennedy, 2020). In this context, increasing knowledge about climate change and other scientific issues is important CONTACT Matthew Barnidge
The inadvertency hypothesis predicts that people encounter political difference in social media s... more The inadvertency hypothesis predicts that people encounter political difference in social media spaces not by design, but rather as a by-product of social media's affordances and cultural logics. The hypothesis implies that incidental news exposure plays a central role in starting conversations from which perceived political disagreement may arise. Relying on a two-wave, online survey collected before and after the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493), this study builds on prior tests of the inadvertency hypothesis. It also elaborates on the hypothesis by comparing social media platforms. Results are supportive of the inadvertency hypothesis, more so for social networking sites such as Facebook than for other types of social media. Results are discussed in light of the study's contribution to literature on social media and democracy. People encounter high amounts of political disagreement on social media in comparison to other settings (Bakshy et al., 2015; Barnidge, 2017; Hutchens et al., 2019), and explanations based on network size or discussion frequency have proven unsatisfactory. A better explanation is the inadvertency hypothesis, which predicts that people encounter political difference in social media spaces not by design, but rather as a by-product of social media affordances and cultural logics (Brundidge, 2010; Stroud and Muddiman, 2012).
Guided by the reinforcing spirals model, this study examines whether exposure to cable news is as... more Guided by the reinforcing spirals model, this study examines whether exposure to cable news is associated with policy preferences, particularly those aimed at immigrants and refugees. Analyses of two sets of survey data (N = 200, N = 4,271) show that, after controlling for demographics, other news use, and political ideology, consuming Fox News has a unique relationship with Americans' policy preferences. Respondents who reported consuming Fox News (online or on TV) preferred stricter policies aimed at immigrants and refugees; however, use of MSNBC and CNN was not related to these policy preferences. A content analysis revealed that FoxNews.com published far fewer stories (N = 123) about immigrants and refugees in the time periods immediately preceding the surveys than did CNN.com (N = 211). However, these FoxNews.com stories provided a different contextualization by emphasizing authority and subversion and deemphasizing care. These findings suggest that Fox News is creating/reinforcing its consumers' migration-related policy preferences, whereas no such relationship exists for MSNBC and CNN consumers.
Contrary to popular arguments about "echo chambers" and "filter bubbles," evidence shows that soc... more Contrary to popular arguments about "echo chambers" and "filter bubbles," evidence shows that social media tend to promote exposure to political disagreement. But if this disagreement has little to no effect on individuals' attitudes and opinions, the democratic benefits of this increased exposure could be limited. This study empirically investigates whether exposure to political disagreement in social media versus face-to-face settings has differential effects on individuals' uncertainty about their political opinions and beliefs. In doing so, the paper accounts for the interplay between these two settings in terms of news use and political discussion. The results show (a) differences in the relationship between political disagreement and uncertainty in social media versus face-to-face settings and (b) considerable overlap in discussion and reflection processes between these two settings. Results are discussed in light of ongoing conversations about the democratic benefits of political disagreement. he 2019 Brexit deal has generated uncertainty among citizens of the U.K. and among people around the world, and discussion about Brexit seems to create more uncertainty about the future, not less (Silva, 2019). Dynamic political discussion about this and other contentious issues, including but certainly not limited to nuclear disarmament in North Korea, populist movements in the United States and several European countries, and the diplomatic status of Jerusalem, may motivate individuals to seek more accurate political information and to learn about diverse political views in both online and in-person settings (Brundidge, 2010; Eveland & Hively, 2009). However, doing so could also generate uncertainty about prior political views, especially T
This study examines the role of individualsβ media diets in contributing to the growing support f... more This study examines the role of individualsβ media diets in contributing to the growing support for right-wing populist parties. Drawing on social identity theory and the notion of populism as political communication, this study argues that socio-economic status and tabloid news use explain support for right-wing candidates through heightened out-group hostility. Using survey data from the Austrian National Election Study (N = 1161), we present a process model in the structural equation modeling framework, and we compare the direct and indirect effects of attention to tabloid versus broadsheet news on the probability to vote for the Freiheitliche Partei Γsterreichs. Results show that the link between social status and support for right-wing populism is mediated by attention to tabloid news and anti-immigration attitudes. Implications for democratic norms are discussed in light of the overlap between news media and politicians in their use of populist narratives.
The corrective action hypothesis predicts that people will take political action in response to m... more The corrective action hypothesis predicts that people will take political action in response to media content they perceive to be biased against them, and evidence has accumulated in favor of it. However, research has not yet investigated the hypothesis in comparative context. This study fills that gap in the literature, relying on the Comparative National Election Project (N ΒΌ 23,527), and analyzing data from 17 countries. Results show evidence of an overall positive relationship between perceived media bias and political action, and they also show evidence that this relationship varies in strength between countries. Moreover, press freedom partially explains this variation. Results are discussed in light of the theory of corrective action and recent trends in political participation worldwide.
This article examines exposure to political disagreement on social media and user filtration in r... more This article examines exposure to political disagreement on social media and user filtration in response to it. Popular arguments suggest that social media sites prevent exposure to political disagreement either through algorithmic filtration or selective affiliation. Another popular argument says that when users are exposed to political disagreement on social media, they filter it from their feeds by "unfriending"/ "unfollowing" or "hiding" the author. We put these narratives to the test by examining (a) the relationship between social media use and exposure to political disagreement and (b) the factors that predict user filtration in response to political disagreement. Results from analysis based on a nationally representative sample of Colombian adults in urban areas show that (a) engagement with news and public affairs content on social media is positively associated with exposure to political disagreement and (b) the amount of disagreement users are exposed to is not related to user filtration in response.
The growing importance of social media for getting science news has raised questions about whethe... more The growing importance of social media for getting science news has raised questions about whether these online platforms foster or hinder public trust in science. Employing multilevel modeling, this study leverages a 20-country survey to examine the relationship between social media news use and trust in science. Results show a positive relationship between these variables across countries. Moreover, the between-country variation in this relationship is related to two cultural characteristics of a country, individualism/collectivism and power distance.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process by which social media news use le... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process by which social media news use leads individuals to engage in attempted political persuasion, examining the mediating roles of cognitive elaboration, political knowledge, political efficacy and political interest. Design/methodology/approach-The study relies on a nationally representative two-wave online survey collected before the 2016 US Presidential Election. Serial mediation is tested using the PROCESS macro. Findings-The study finds significant indirect effects of social media news use on political persuasion via cognitive elaboration, political knowledge, political efficacy and political interest. Research limitations/implications-Causal inferences should be made with caution. While the measurement of cognitive elaboration is based on prior literature, it is a complex mental process that could be measured more directly in future research. Social implications-The findings imply that social media news use contributes to a potentially discursive environment in which cross-cutting views may drive argumentation. Thus, the study sheds light on how social media contribute to persuasive political conversation. Originality/value-The study applies the O-S-R-OR model to political persuasion and highlights the processes of reflection, understanding and elaboration that convert news use into attempted persuasion.
Prevalent theory explaining why and how people encounter political difference on social media pla... more Prevalent theory explaining why and how people encounter political difference on social media platforms ascribes an important role for weakened geographic boundaries. Yet, research has yet to test the role of geography in producing these encounters. This study fills that gap in the literature by testing the proposition that the more a person moves, the more political difference they will encounter on social media platforms. To do so, the study offers a constructive critique and amendment of theory to incorporate geographic mobility and geographic difference in political discussion. Then, drawing on a national online survey sample reflecting the target population of adult internet users in the United States (N = 1493), it uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the relationships between these variables and other dimensions of difference in political discussion on social media platforms. Results show geographic mobility is indirectly related to political difference through geographic difference. Results are discussed in light of their implications for our understanding of how media technologies contribute to political communication in contemporary American society.
Scholarship on audience fragmentation typically takes one of two approaches: The micro-level anal... more Scholarship on audience fragmentation typically takes one of two approaches: The micro-level analysis of individuals' selective exposure to partisan news, or the macrolevel analysis of audience overlap. To bridge the gap between these levels of analysis, we introduce the concept of attention centrality as a set of macro-to-micro measures that characterize how individual news media selection is situated within networks of public attention. Relying on an online panel survey conducted in the United States (N ΒΌ 1,493), we examine the relationship between three indicators of respondents' attention centrality (closeness, betweenness, and reach) and the partisan valence of their news selections. The study finds different patterns of results for the three indicators of attention centrality, indicating that partisan news media are not uniformly isolated to the periphery of public attention. Results are discussed in light of conversations about selective exposure and audience overlap in the United States and around the world.
Some people live in social media "news deserts," while others are embedded in online networks tha... more Some people live in social media "news deserts," while others are embedded in online networks that are rich in news content. These news deserts represent a new form of digital inequality-distinct from problems of access, resources, or civic skills-that could foreclose one of the ways social media are believed to contribute to informing citizens and engaging them in democratic processes: providing opportunities for incidental news exposure. This study investigates incidental exposure on social media platforms, drawing on an online survey administered just before the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493). The study finds that even after controlling for key individual-level factors, characteristics of social media discussion networks play a role in explaining variation in incidental exposure. The results are discussed in light of prevailing theory about incidental exposure, public engagement, and digital inequalities.
The communication mediation model asserts that the effects of news use on political participation... more The communication mediation model asserts that the effects of news use on political participation are mostly indirect, mediated through discussion. Recent research has shown that this mediation process is stronger in countries where freedom of the press and expression are also greater. Relying on data collected during election cycles in seventeen countries between 2013 and 2018, we examine how additional country-level factors, including political freedom and digital infrastructure, moderate the indirect relationship between news use and political participation via political talk. Results provide evidence that these factors condition both outcomes, but in different ways. For protest, two of three country-level indices moderate individual-level variation in the pathway between political talk and protest. For voting, two of three country-level indices moderate aggregate-level variation in the pathway between news use and political talk. Results are discussed in light of their implications for the communication mediation model and comparative political communication research.
Promoting public knowledge about climate is important for garnering support for climate-change po... more Promoting public knowledge about climate is important for garnering support for climate-change policy, and researchers have begun to study the effectiveness of new technologies as learning tools. News organizations are increasingly producing immersive journalism, including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), and this study tests whether VR news can be an effective tool for learning about climate change. Based on results from a controlled, in-person laboratory experiment comparing an immersive VR news story to 360Β°-video and text-with-images versions, we find no main effects on the learning outcomes. However, we do find indirect effects on cognitive elaboration, which are conditional on preexisting knowledge about climate change. Results are discussed in light of their implications for theory about learning in multimedia environments, as well as their implications for the science of science communication. Scientific issues such as climate change are at the forefront of politics and policy making in democratic societies around the world, and particularly in the United States, where public opinion about climate change is divided, and climate denial has become a full-blown political stance for one of the two major parties (Funk & Kennedy, 2020). In this context, increasing knowledge about climate change and other scientific issues is important CONTACT Matthew Barnidge
The inadvertency hypothesis predicts that people encounter political difference in social media s... more The inadvertency hypothesis predicts that people encounter political difference in social media spaces not by design, but rather as a by-product of social media's affordances and cultural logics. The hypothesis implies that incidental news exposure plays a central role in starting conversations from which perceived political disagreement may arise. Relying on a two-wave, online survey collected before and after the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493), this study builds on prior tests of the inadvertency hypothesis. It also elaborates on the hypothesis by comparing social media platforms. Results are supportive of the inadvertency hypothesis, more so for social networking sites such as Facebook than for other types of social media. Results are discussed in light of the study's contribution to literature on social media and democracy. People encounter high amounts of political disagreement on social media in comparison to other settings (Bakshy et al., 2015; Barnidge, 2017; Hutchens et al., 2019), and explanations based on network size or discussion frequency have proven unsatisfactory. A better explanation is the inadvertency hypothesis, which predicts that people encounter political difference in social media spaces not by design, but rather as a by-product of social media affordances and cultural logics (Brundidge, 2010; Stroud and Muddiman, 2012).
Guided by the reinforcing spirals model, this study examines whether exposure to cable news is as... more Guided by the reinforcing spirals model, this study examines whether exposure to cable news is associated with policy preferences, particularly those aimed at immigrants and refugees. Analyses of two sets of survey data (N = 200, N = 4,271) show that, after controlling for demographics, other news use, and political ideology, consuming Fox News has a unique relationship with Americans' policy preferences. Respondents who reported consuming Fox News (online or on TV) preferred stricter policies aimed at immigrants and refugees; however, use of MSNBC and CNN was not related to these policy preferences. A content analysis revealed that FoxNews.com published far fewer stories (N = 123) about immigrants and refugees in the time periods immediately preceding the surveys than did CNN.com (N = 211). However, these FoxNews.com stories provided a different contextualization by emphasizing authority and subversion and deemphasizing care. These findings suggest that Fox News is creating/reinforcing its consumers' migration-related policy preferences, whereas no such relationship exists for MSNBC and CNN consumers.
Contrary to popular arguments about "echo chambers" and "filter bubbles," evidence shows that soc... more Contrary to popular arguments about "echo chambers" and "filter bubbles," evidence shows that social media tend to promote exposure to political disagreement. But if this disagreement has little to no effect on individuals' attitudes and opinions, the democratic benefits of this increased exposure could be limited. This study empirically investigates whether exposure to political disagreement in social media versus face-to-face settings has differential effects on individuals' uncertainty about their political opinions and beliefs. In doing so, the paper accounts for the interplay between these two settings in terms of news use and political discussion. The results show (a) differences in the relationship between political disagreement and uncertainty in social media versus face-to-face settings and (b) considerable overlap in discussion and reflection processes between these two settings. Results are discussed in light of ongoing conversations about the democratic benefits of political disagreement. he 2019 Brexit deal has generated uncertainty among citizens of the U.K. and among people around the world, and discussion about Brexit seems to create more uncertainty about the future, not less (Silva, 2019). Dynamic political discussion about this and other contentious issues, including but certainly not limited to nuclear disarmament in North Korea, populist movements in the United States and several European countries, and the diplomatic status of Jerusalem, may motivate individuals to seek more accurate political information and to learn about diverse political views in both online and in-person settings (Brundidge, 2010; Eveland & Hively, 2009). However, doing so could also generate uncertainty about prior political views, especially T
This study examines the role of individualsβ media diets in contributing to the growing support f... more This study examines the role of individualsβ media diets in contributing to the growing support for right-wing populist parties. Drawing on social identity theory and the notion of populism as political communication, this study argues that socio-economic status and tabloid news use explain support for right-wing candidates through heightened out-group hostility. Using survey data from the Austrian National Election Study (N = 1161), we present a process model in the structural equation modeling framework, and we compare the direct and indirect effects of attention to tabloid versus broadsheet news on the probability to vote for the Freiheitliche Partei Γsterreichs. Results show that the link between social status and support for right-wing populism is mediated by attention to tabloid news and anti-immigration attitudes. Implications for democratic norms are discussed in light of the overlap between news media and politicians in their use of populist narratives.
The corrective action hypothesis predicts that people will take political action in response to m... more The corrective action hypothesis predicts that people will take political action in response to media content they perceive to be biased against them, and evidence has accumulated in favor of it. However, research has not yet investigated the hypothesis in comparative context. This study fills that gap in the literature, relying on the Comparative National Election Project (N ΒΌ 23,527), and analyzing data from 17 countries. Results show evidence of an overall positive relationship between perceived media bias and political action, and they also show evidence that this relationship varies in strength between countries. Moreover, press freedom partially explains this variation. Results are discussed in light of the theory of corrective action and recent trends in political participation worldwide.
This article examines exposure to political disagreement on social media and user filtration in r... more This article examines exposure to political disagreement on social media and user filtration in response to it. Popular arguments suggest that social media sites prevent exposure to political disagreement either through algorithmic filtration or selective affiliation. Another popular argument says that when users are exposed to political disagreement on social media, they filter it from their feeds by "unfriending"/ "unfollowing" or "hiding" the author. We put these narratives to the test by examining (a) the relationship between social media use and exposure to political disagreement and (b) the factors that predict user filtration in response to political disagreement. Results from analysis based on a nationally representative sample of Colombian adults in urban areas show that (a) engagement with news and public affairs content on social media is positively associated with exposure to political disagreement and (b) the amount of disagreement users are exposed to is not related to user filtration in response.
The growing importance of social media for getting science news has raised questions about whethe... more The growing importance of social media for getting science news has raised questions about whether these online platforms foster or hinder public trust in science. Employing multilevel modeling, this study leverages a 20-country survey to examine the relationship between social media news use and trust in science. Results show a positive relationship between these variables across countries. Moreover, the between-country variation in this relationship is related to two cultural characteristics of a country, individualism/collectivism and power distance.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process by which social media news use le... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process by which social media news use leads individuals to engage in attempted political persuasion, examining the mediating roles of cognitive elaboration, political knowledge, political efficacy and political interest. Design/methodology/approach-The study relies on a nationally representative two-wave online survey collected before the 2016 US Presidential Election. Serial mediation is tested using the PROCESS macro. Findings-The study finds significant indirect effects of social media news use on political persuasion via cognitive elaboration, political knowledge, political efficacy and political interest. Research limitations/implications-Causal inferences should be made with caution. While the measurement of cognitive elaboration is based on prior literature, it is a complex mental process that could be measured more directly in future research. Social implications-The findings imply that social media news use contributes to a potentially discursive environment in which cross-cutting views may drive argumentation. Thus, the study sheds light on how social media contribute to persuasive political conversation. Originality/value-The study applies the O-S-R-OR model to political persuasion and highlights the processes of reflection, understanding and elaboration that convert news use into attempted persuasion.
This study identifies social-psychological variables that predict various types of political and ... more This study identifies social-psychological variables that predict various types of political and civic behaviors in Colombia. While previous research shows declines in civic-group membership, it also shows increases in other forms of participation. Using data from a national biennial survey of an urban adult population, we construct a two-by-two typology of political efficacy and trust in governmental institutions. We use subsequent hierarchical regression analysis to show that citizenship orientation is a significant factor in predicting interactive-interpersonal, community, and online engagement.
Hyperpartisan news on social media presents new challenges for selective exposure theory. These c... more Hyperpartisan news on social media presents new challenges for selective exposure theory. These challenges are substantial enough to usher in a new era-a third wave-of selective exposure research. In this essay, we trace the history of the first two waves of research in order to better understand the current situation. We then assess the implications of recent developments for selective exposure research.
Uploads