Folk Theories of False Information: a Mixed-Methods Study in the Context of Covid-19 in Turkey

dc.contributor.author Kocer, Suncem
dc.contributor.author Koçer Çamurdan, Suncem
dc.contributor.author Oz, Bahadir
dc.contributor.author Okcuoglu, Gulten
dc.contributor.author Tapramaz, Fezal
dc.contributor.other Public Relations and Information
dc.date.accessioned 2023-10-19T15:12:30Z
dc.date.available 2023-10-19T15:12:30Z
dc.date.issued 2022
dc.department-temp [Kocer, Suncem] Koc Univ, Dept Media & Visual Arts, TR-34450 Istanbul, Turkey; [Oz, Bahadir; Okcuoglu, Gulten] Kadir Has Univ, Istanbul, Turkey; [Tapramaz, Fezal] Istanbul Univ, Sociol, Istanbul, Turkey en_US
dc.description.abstract This study explores how media users define false information in the daily flow of their lives against a backdrop of sociopolitical contexts. We focus on the vernacular definitions of false information through the concept of folk theories, which are the intuitive explanatory tools users develop to make sense of and act in the world around them. Based on mixed-method research conducted in Turkey during the Covid-19 pandemic, we identify three prevailing folk theories of false information. First, users consider text-based characteristics, such as the presence of evidence as a flag of accuracy/inaccuracy. Second, users assume that people in their social networks distinguish between the accurate and the inaccurate, and thus the information coming from these circles is accurate. Finally, users imagine that people whose worldviews conflict with theirs spread inaccurate information. Despite users' overarching references to textual traits of news, it appears that the latter two folk theories drive users' information processing practices in daily life. en_US
dc.identifier.citationcount 1
dc.identifier.doi 10.1177/14614448221142310 en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1461-4448
dc.identifier.issn 1461-7315
dc.identifier.scopus 2-s2.0-85145458533 en_US
dc.identifier.scopusquality Q1
dc.identifier.uri https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221142310
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12469/5464
dc.identifier.wos WOS:000901447800001 en_US
dc.identifier.wosquality Q1
dc.khas 20231019-WoS en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Sage Publications Ltd en_US
dc.relation.ispartof New Media & Society en_US
dc.relation.publicationcategory Makale - Uluslararası Hakemli Dergi - Kurum Öğretim Elemanı en_US
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess en_US
dc.scopus.citedbyCount 4
dc.subject Polarization En_Us
dc.subject Media En_Us
dc.subject Covid-19 en_US
dc.subject Network En_Us
dc.subject false information en_US
dc.subject folk theories en_US
dc.subject Polarization
dc.subject information processing en_US
dc.subject Media
dc.subject mixed-methods en_US
dc.subject Network
dc.subject Turkey en_US
dc.title Folk Theories of False Information: a Mixed-Methods Study in the Context of Covid-19 in Turkey en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dc.wos.citedbyCount 4
dspace.entity.type Publication
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