Academic Edi o : And eu
Case o-Ripollés
Recei ed: 30 Oc obe 2024
Re ised: 30 No embe 2024
Accep ed: 28 Decembe 2024
Published: 1 Janua y 2025
Ci a ion: Rojas To ijos, J. L., & Ga o e
Fuen es, Á. (2025). The Fac uali y o
News on Twi e Acco ding o Digi al
Quali ied Audiences: Expec a ions,
Pe cep ions, and Di e gences wi h
Jou nalism Conside a ions. Jou nalism
and Media,6(1), 3. h ps://doi.o g/
10.3390/jou nalmedia6010003
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Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land.
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condi ions o he C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion (CC BY) license
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licenses/by/4.0/).
A icle
The Fac uali y o News on Twi e Acco ding o Digi al Quali ied
Audiences: Expec a ions, Pe cep ions, and Di e gences wi h
Jou nalism Conside a ions
JoséLuis Rojas To ijos 1,* and Ál a o Ga o e Fuen es 2
1Depa men o Jou nalism II, Facul y o Communica ion S udies, Uni e si y o Se ille, 41092 Se illa, Spain
2College o Eu ope in Na olin, 02-797 Wa saw, Poland; al a o.ga o e_ uen es@coleu ope.eu
*Co espondence: jl [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac : This esea ch analyzes o wha ex en quali ied digi al audiences pe cei e, unde -
s and, and alue he ac uali y o news published by news media wi hin a communica i e
ecosys em whe e un e i ied in o ma ion p oli e a es on social media. Addi ionally, i
examines which ac o s may in luence wha highly educa ed and c i ically capable in o -
ma ion audiences expec o ind when consuming jou nalism. A quali a i e, compa a i e
s udy was conduc ed om a sample ob ained o he en mos ele an s a emen s on
socio-poli ical opics wi h he highes numbe o in e ac ions published on he Twi e
(X) accoun s o six Eu opean digi al and legacy media (Médiapa and Le Monde, F ance;
To oise and The Gua dian, Uni ed Kingdom; El Dia io.es and El País, Spain), along wi h
hei e lec ion and de elopmen on he espec i e websi es. Wi h an expanded analy ical
scope o 300 wee -news i ems (n= 300), wo in-pe son ocus g oups we e held a he
College o Eu ope in Na olin (Poland) wi h pos g adua e s uden s om nine coun ies o
assess hei pe cep ion o he deg ee o u h ulness, bias, quali y, and c edibili y o he
displayed in o ma ion. The esul s indica e ha young, quali ied digi al audiences eel
secu e and capable o de ec ing any disin o ma ion diso de . They alue he a ie y o
men ioned and e i iable sou ces, he p esence o expe oices, and da a-based claims as
key elemen s in cons uc ing c edible media na a i es.
Keywo ds: ac uali y; disin o ma ion; Twi e ; digi al audiences; jou nalism
1. In oduc ion
False s o ies concei ed and dis ibu ed ac oss a ious digi al pla o ms a e o en
pe cei ed by audiences as genuine news. The mul iplici y o ac o s and sou ces in he
cu en communica i e ecosys em, along wi h 24-h in o ma ion lows and he accele a ed
p oduc ion hy hms on social media, p omp media o publish quickly wi hou adequa e
e i ica ion (Rosenbe g & Feldman,2008), he eby inc easing misin o ma ion among in-
c easingly agmen ed audiences who ind i p og essi ely challenging no only o dis in-
guish alsehood om u h bu also o di e en ia e ac uali y om specula ion and opinion
wi hin s a emen s. In his ega d, se e al s udies by he Pew Resea ch Cen e (2018) and
he Reu e s Ins i u e (2021) indica e ha he p oblem lies no only in media e i ica ion bu
also in public expec a ions, alua ion, and eading comp ehension.
Al hough he academic li e a u e has al eady ex ensi ely add essed conside a ions o
wha jou nalism is and how i should ac o di e en ia e i sel om o he con en c ea o s in
he cu en digi al landscape (Hani zsch & Vos,2018;T uyens & Picone,2021;Pé ez Cu iel
e al.,2021), his concep ual e iew o jou nalism’s no ms and oles has almos always
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/jou nalmedia6010003
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 2 o 18
been conduc ed om he pe spec i e o p oduc ion a he han ecep ion. Consequen ly,
disc epancies a ise be ween how p o essionals concei e hei p ac ice (Mellado & Van
Dalen,2013) and how audiences, especially younge ones, pe cei e ha pe o mance
in e ms o wha can be conside ed op-quali y jou nalis ic wo k (Wea e e al.,2007;
Cos e a-Meije ,2007).
Fo all hese easons, his s udy aims o analyze whe he he concep o ac uali y, as he
ounda ion o cons uc ing e i ied news ac s (Ko ach & Rosens iel,2014) ha dis inguish
hem om umo s and hoaxes (C. Sil e man,2015), emains ele an in he cons uc ion o
con empo a y jou nalis ic discou se, bo h in adi ional and new digi al media, h ough he
social channel Twi e (X). In doing so, i del es in o he e alua ion o wo cen al aspec s:
i s , whe he new consump ion habi s de eloped on social media p oduce cogni i e
biases (G ei enede e al.,2021) ha may shape wha digi al audiences expec o ind in
publica ions by news media and, second, o wha ex en hese audiences, accus omed
o us ing wha hey ead and sha e on such pla o ms (Ka lsson e al.,2017;Wagne &
Boczkowski,2019), may alida e in o ma ion lacking ac ual basis and cons uc ed om
misleading s a emen s o headlines (Luo e al.,2022).
Fo he pu poses o his esea ch, he analysis ocuses on he pe cep ions and expec a-
ions ha highly quali ied digi al audiences hold ega ding jou nalism. This e m e e s
o digi al-na i e use s (P ensky,2001) amilia wi h echnology, social media, and new
de ices who a e u he dis inguished om o he ac i e audiences (Li ings one,2019) by
hei high le el o educa ion and, consequen ly, c i ical hinking, knowledge o new media,
and abili y o de ec misin o ma ion (O han,2023).
2. Theo e ical F amewo k
2.1. The Disin o ma i e Con ex in Digi al En i onmen s
The ans o ma ion in he ways o p oducing and consuming in o ma ion in digi al
en i onmen s has blu ed adi ional bounda ies o jou nalism (Ca lson & Lewis,2015).
Jou nalis s and media o ganiza ions mus ede ine hei ole in esponse o he eme gence
o new communica i e ac o s engaged in ac i i ies ha may be pe cei ed as jou nalism
(Maa es & Hanusch,2020, p. 262) by audiences, whose pe cep ion is decisi e as hey a e
he ones who g an legi imacy and c edibili y (Deuze & Wi schge,2016;Kanano ich &
Pe eaul ,2021).
The a i al o hese new con en c ea o s om jou nalism’s pe iphe y (Chua & Du y,
2019), who occupy a signi ican communica i e space by building ollowe communi ies
and cap u ing audiences, has led jou nalis s and news media ou le s o y o dis inguish
hemsel es om hese ac o s o sa egua d hei “p o essional ju isdic ion” (Lewis,2012),
emphasizing adi ional alues and codes, such as e i ica ion, independence, impa iali y,
and anspa ency (Singe ,2015), in he p oduc ion o ac ual s o ies. Simul aneously, digi al
en i onmen s ha e os e ed spaces o adop ing new jou nalis ic ou ines, mo ing away
om p o essional no ma i i y and ending owa d hyb id solu ions (Fe ucci & Canella,
2023) in an inc easingly social and pa icipa i e landscape.
In his con ex o echnological impac , he in eg a ion o ci izen oices in mul ipla -
o m con en p oduc ion and audience agmen a ion, digi al-na i e mediaha e eme ged
as al e na i es o adi ional media, p oposing new ela ionships wi h audiences (Cab e a
e al.,2019). These new media o he digi al e a a e cha ac e ized by c ea ing communi y
h ough pa icipa o y s a egies and hema ic specializa ion, ocusing on audience-cen e ed
jou nalism (Ga cía-O osa e al.,2020, p. 12), and u ilizing social pla o ms o do so.
Wi h his p io i y, digi al media ou le s linked o i ali y eme ged, especially in he
2010s (Deniso a,2023), elying on social media a ic olume as hei p ima y dis ibu ion
s a egy (Hu combe,2022). This also led hem o adop clickbai echniques— ha is, con en
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 3 o 18
designed o cap u e use a en ion by en icing clicks h ough emo ional, sensa ional, and
misleading headlines (Chen e al.,2015). The cen ali y o social media in he p oduc ion
and ci cula ion o in o ma ion has esul ed in g ea e pola iza ion o public opinion, an
inc ease in biased messages, and, mos no ably, an exponen ial ise in misin o ma ion
(Ál a o-Sanchez,2018).
Indeed, he e has been a su ge in so-called ake news, which is dis ibu ed globally,
massi ely, and ins an ly ia social media channels and o he digi al pla o ms, ampli ying
he e ec s o scams (Tandoc & See ,2024) and c ea ing con usion among news consume s
(Elías & Tei a,2021). As Elías (2021, p. 21) poin s ou , alse o ab ica ed in o ma ion
coexis s wi h eal news bu in a biased way h ough a se ies o p ocesses “whe e di e en
channels eed o each o he , lending g ea e c edibili y o his oxic na a i e.”
Despi e i s popula iza ion, he concep o ake news does no encompass all o ms o
in o ma ion diso de ha exis (I e on & Pose i,2018;Wa dle,2019), no does i cap u e
he complexi y o a disin o ma ion phenomenon ha exis s o a ious easons and can
each di e en le els o se e i y (Sala e ía e al.,2020). The public dissemina ion o alse
con en has di e si ied o such an ex en ha scams ange om simple jokes o decon ex-
ualiza ion o decep ion and may be ab ica ed delibe a ely o a ise om exagge a ions,
misin e p e a ions, o me e con usion.
Conside ing all ci cums ances, scams sp ead mo e quickly and ha e a g ea e impac
han ue news (Vosoughi e al.,2018). This disin o ma ion pandemic, as an “indica ion o
he collapse o he old news o de and he chaos o con empo a y public communica ion”
(Case o-Ripollés,2020, p. 3), has equi ed he e ec i e implemen a ion o u gen ac -
checking mechanisms by agencies and jou nalis ic media o de ec and comba i (Pé ez-
Cu iel & Velasco Molpece es,2020).
2.2. Fac uali y as a Dis inc i e Elemen o Jou nalism
In he so-called “pos - u h” e a (Sui e ,2016), he powe o ac s has been diminished
by he p oli e a ion o alsehoods and conspi acies, “al e na i e ac s,” and moods ha
ca y mo e weigh han e idence i sel (McIn y e,2018). This has esul ed in g ea e
audience agmen a ion (Webs e & Ksiazek,2012) and a b eakdown o he consensus and
common ac ual basis needed o concei e and in e p e eali y. Thus, ac uali y s ands
as he ounda ion o “objec i e jou nalism” (Schudson,2001) and as he dis inguishing
elemen ha g an s legi imacy o jou nalis ic media o e o he ac o s, including poli icians
and pa isan ou le s.
G ounded in he e i ica ion discipline as he essence o jou nalism (Ko ach & Rosen-
s iel,2014), news discou se has adi ionally been cons uc ed ac ually, meaning i is based
on e i ied ac s. The abili y o media o p o ide u h ul and eliable news is based on
ins i u ionalized p o essional no ms and p ac ices ha con e knowledge and au ho i y in
he eyes o he public (Ka lsson e al.,2017). In his way, ac uali y as he ounda ion o new
cons uc ion is associa ed wi h u h and se es as a compelling me hod o wo k, in ol -
ing he e ec i e use o esou ces—pa icula ly linguis ic ones—and he use o e iden ial
ma ke s o ea n audience c edibili y (Eks öm & Wes lund,2019).
In oday’s landscape, despi e he ise o sea ch engines and social channels as in o -
ma ion sou ces, adi ional media ha ely on ac uali y o build hei news discou se
emain he mos c edible o a la ge pa o he public (Newman e al.,2021). Mo eo e ,
hey se e as he bes an ido e o coun e disin o ma ion and align wi h he demands o
audiences who inc easingly seek ac -based news a he han con en ha is deba able and
solely opinion-based (Wagne & Boczkowski,2019). The e o e, media au ho i y dec eases
d as ically when hey publish news ha has no been p ope ly e i ied (Pa ks,2022) o
when hey ail o de ec and expose alse in o ma ion (G a es,2017).
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 4 o 18
Al hough he mul iplica ion o oices and messages h ough social media does no
always make i easy o clea ly dis inguish u h ul news om alsehoods, i is he esponsi-
bili y o media and jou nalis s o help audiences ecognize such misleading con en and
con inue p o iding hem wi h ele an in o ma ion (Sp adling e al.,2021).
2.3. Audience Expec a ions and Pe cep ions
The e is no doub ha audiences ha e aken on a cen al ole wi hin he ield o jou -
nalism, which inc easingly di ec s i s s a egy owa d hem (Fe e -Conill & Tandoc,2018),
as do o he con en c ea o s in hyb id digi al en i onmen s whe e, as men ioned ea lie ,
p o essional and non-p o essional ac o s in e mingle (Schapals e al.,2019). Howe e , his
p io i iza ion o be e unde s anding audiences h ough me ics is nega i ely impac ing
he quali y o he in o ma ion p oduced: he e a e mo e news s o ies on he same opics,
con en is published quickly wi h insu icien e i ica ion and con ex , and imp ecise and
supe icial con en p oli e a es (Fu s ,2020). This aises he ques ion o he alue ha
digi al audiences assign o jou nalis ic quali y.
Quali y has been ci ed by p o essionals as a undamen al elemen in de e mining and
assessing whe he he ypes o con en p oduced and dis ibu ed o audiences may ul i-
ma ely be pe cei ed by hem as c edible, engaging, and ele an (Sunda ,1999). Howe e ,
i s pe cep ion and e alua ion emain unclea wi hin he collec i e imagina ion o such
he e ogeneous audiences as hose in he digi al space (Molyneux & Codding on,2020). In
ac , gene a ional beha io al di e ences exis among audiences based on hei expe ience,
mo i a ions, and unde s anding o how news is cons uc ed and whe e i o igina es. Ac-
co ding o a s udy by Wunde lich e al. (2022), jou nalism is pe cei ed di e en ly among
younge , digi al-na i e audiences who ha e no de eloped de ined consump ion habi s,
access mo e non-jou nalis ic sou ces, and end o be mo e dis us ul o he media and
adul audiences, also amilia wi h he analog e a, who show g ea e loyal y o speci ic
media b ands and assign highe c edibili y o he p o essional sou ces hey ollow.
These di e ing pe cep ions among audience segmen s ega ding he ele ance and
eliabili y o ce ain con en o e o he s (C a e al.,2016) also help explain he di icul y
many use s ha e in de ec ing he deg ee o u h ulness, ac uali y, o bias in messages,
whe he hey con ain alse in o ma ion o eal in o ma ion. This o en leads hem o sha e
hese messages on social media and digi al pla o ms, ei he because hey do no del e in o
he ull s o y and ocus only on he headline (He e o & González-Aldea,2022) o because
hey lend c edibili y o any hing ha has many in e ac ions and has hus been p e iously
sha ed and alida ed by o he s (Luo e al.,2022), especially wi hin hei own con ac s
(Gil de Zúñiga & Cheng,2021). O he ac o s in luencing he likelihood o alse con en
sp eading and going i al include he opics, especially i hey a e up- o-da e (Hamelee s
e al.,2021); he p esence o news alues, such as con o e sy o he unexpec ed na u e o
e en s; as well as emo ional appeal and human in e es (Be ge & Milkman,2012).
In one way o ano he , we e e o ac i e audiences o “new ci izens” (Masip e al.,
2019), who ac as p osume s and ake he ini ia i e o pa icipa e in public deba e by sha ing
con en in online en i onmen s, pa icula ly on social media, wi hou any jou nalis ic
il e ing. This also allows alse in o ma ion o h i e as he e is no media in e media ion
(Cooke,2018).
In ligh o he abo e, he ela ionship be ween wha jou nalis s do and hink and how
digi al audiences conside and alue p o essional wo k in e ms o quali y, us , and c edi-
bili y wa an s u he academic explo a ion (Ka lsson e al.,2017, p. 162). Unde s anding
and comp ehending he expec a ions and pe cep ions o news-consuming audiences will
help o be e ede ine he ole o jou nalis ic media wi hin he new a en ion economy
(T uyens & Picone,2021,2024).
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 5 o 18
Acco dingly, he p ima y esea ch objec i e o his s udy is o analyze o wha ex en
quali ied digi al audiences pe cei e, unde s and, and alue he ac uali y o news published
by news media wi hin a communica i e ecosys em whe e un e i ied in o ma ion p oli e -
a es on social media channels (RO1). Addi ionally, his s udy aims o de e mine how hese
audiences alue quali y jou nalis ic wo k o e o he con en om ex e nal pla o ms o
non-media si es (RO2) and which possible ac o s in luence wha audiences expec o ind
in jou nalis ic media, beyond me ely conside ing he news ele an o o gene al in e es
due o i s opic (RO3).
To add ess hese objec i es, he ollowing esea ch ques ions a e aised:
•
RQ1: To wha ex en do quali ied digi al audiences s uggle o de ec alsehood o bias
in jou nalis ic s a emen s?
•
RQ2: How do quali ied digi al audiences pe cei e and alue news ha is based on
mo e ac s and be e sou ce wo k?
•
RQ3: Which ac o s a e mos in luen ial in shaping news pe cep ion among quali ied
digi al audiences?
3. Me hod
3.1. Sample Collec ion and Con en Analysis
Wi h hese objec i es in mind, his esea ch was conduc ed ollowing wo me hod-
ological p ocesses. The i s comp ised a compa a i e con en analysis o a sample o
he en mos ele an s a emen s on poli ical o social opics, wi h he highes numbe o
in e ac ions published on he Twi e (X) accoun s o six leading Eu opean media ou le s, as
well as hei e lec ion and de elopmen on he espec i e websi es, be ween 1 Janua y and
31 Decembe 2021. Thus, he con en analysis co pus comp ises 60 wee s (n= 60) and hei
co esponding a icles published in he digi al edi ions o he media ou le s unde s udy.
To make he sample, no only wee s bu also news a icles we e conside ed. Al hough
Twi e p o ides eade s wi h a mechanism o in e p e ing he meaning o news (Sadle ,
2018) h ough headlines and links o media websi es, i becomes agmen a y and some-
imes misleading. Some s udies on social media consump ion indica e ha audiences end
o sha e news some imes wi hou eading hem o clicking on hem (Sunda e al.,2024).
Fo sample selec ion, he Global Digi al Subsc ip ion Snapsho , a media anking
by online subsc ibe s published qua e ly by he Fédé a ion In e na ionale de la P esse
Pé iodique (FIPP) in collabo a ion wi h Cele aOne—a Ge man company specializing in
digi al echnology and big da a—was used as a e e ence. Speci ically, he da a used in his
s udy co espond o he hi d-qua e 2021 epo .
Fi s , an explo a ion was conduc ed o iden i y he op h ee Eu opean digi al-only
media ou le s wi h he highes numbe o subsc ip ions. Acco ding o his c i e ia, he
ollowing media ou le s eme ged (in o de ): Médiapa (F ance), To oise (Uni ed Kingdom),
De Co esponden (Ne he lands), El Dia io.es (Spain), El Con idencial (Spain), The Local
(Sweden), Ze land (Denma k), El Español (Spain), and K au epo e (Ge many). The
emaining media on he lis a e digi al subsc ip ions o ou le s wi h a p in edi ion. Since
he Du ch ou le De Co esponden ceased publica ion in ea ly 2022, he sample was
comp ised o Médiapa (F ance), To oise (Uni ed Kingdom), and El Dia io.es (Spain).
Once hese ou le s we e iden i ied, he nex s ep was o selec gene alis media ou le s
publishing newspape s in hese same h ee coun ies o ma ke s o compa e publica ion
s a egies be ween online edi ions o adi ional media and new digi al media. The Twi e
(X) accoun s and online edi ions o leading p in media ou le s in subsc ip ions in hei
espec i e coun ies ha a e hus included in he s udy sample a e, in o de , The Gua dian
(Uni ed Kingdom), Le Monde (F ance), and El País (Spain) (See Table 1).
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 6 o 18
Table 1. Con ex ual da a abou he media accoun s examined. Sou ce: au ho ’s own elabo a ion.
Media Ou le Media Type Coun y Founda ion Accoun Joined Twi e
Médiapa Digi al only F ance 2008 @Mediapa 2009
To oise Digi al only UK 2018 @ o oise 2018
Eldia io.es Digi al only Spain 2012 @eldia ioes 2012
Le Monde P in /Digi al F ance 1944 @lemonde 2009
The Gua dian P in /Digi al UK 1821 @gua dian 2009
El País P in /Digi al Spain 1976 @el_pais 2007
A e he sample was collec ed, he di e en headlines we e e alua ed based on jou -
nalis ic e i ica ion c i e ia, such as he dis inc ion be ween in o ma ion and in e p e a ion
and opinion, he p esence o bias, sou ce usage, backg ound e e ences, language use, and
ma ke s o allacy.
To es ablish hese e i ica ion c i e ia, an analysis shee ma ix wi h 29 i ems was
c ea ed o measu e and e alua e he in o ma ion published by he media consis en ly using
he same pa ame e s. The ma ix included, in addi ion o indica o s o wee loca ion and
dissemina ion ( e wee s, likes, and eplies), a se ies o indica o s ela ed o each social
s a emen , as well as each headline and body ex o he in o ma ion published on he
websi es o he media ou le s in he analysis sample.
In addi ion o i ems ela ed o he opic and geog aphic scope o each piece o in o ma-
ion (na ional o in e na ional), he con en indica o s o wee s in he analysis shee de ail
aspec s such as he app oach (in o ma i e, in e p e a i e, o opinion-based), pe spec i e
(pa ial o decla a i e om a p o agonis o global/wi h mo e han one p o agonis ), and
bias. These same indica o s (app oach, pe spec i e, and bias) a e applied o he s udy o
headline con en , o which wo addi ional aspec s a e analyzed: he deg ee o alignmen
wi h he wee and i s ela ionship o he main con en o he news a icle body.
Rega ding con en indica o s o he news ex s on each websi e, no only a e he
app oach, pe spec i e, and bias measu ed—simila o he wee s and headlines—bu
also da a usage (whe he da a a e e i iable, un e i iable, o inaccu a e), whe he he
in o ma ion is con ex ualized, and he numbe o sou ces used, as well as he p edominan
ypology in each news ex (go e nmen al ins i u ional, non-go e nmen al ins i u ional,
jou nalis ic, documen a y, expe , anonymous, o wi hou sou ces).
To alida e he consis ency o his coding ins umen , a con en analysis was ca ied
ou o ob ain some p elimina y esul s ha would la e be deba ed in he ocus g oups.
Among o he indings om he pe spec i e o social audience consump ion, a g ea e i al
impac and eliabili y a e de ec ed in wee -news a icles published by gene alis media
ou le s, clickbai echniques p omo ed by digi al na i es a e disapp o ed by use s in hei
in e ac ions, and he end ha audiences sha e in o ma ion on Twi e wi hou clicking on
he links o he news is con i med.
Thus, he i s s age o he esea ch se ed o jus i y and collec he esea ch sample
as well as o alida e he coding p ocess employed in he con en analysis. As con en
analysis an impo an ool o social science in d awing alid in e ences abou media
beha io s (Ri e e al.,2023), in his case on social media pla o ms and websi es, a u he
me hodological quali a i e p ocess was needed o espond o he esea ch objec i es. Thus,
he ca ego ies and a iables included in he con en analysis would be used o conduc he
discussion among he pa icipan s in he ocus g oups.
3.2. Focus G oups
Based on his s uc u ed con en analysis, a epo o esul s was ob ained, which was
u he examined in a second phase o he esea ch h ough wo in-pe son ocus g oups.
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 7 o 18
The ocus g oup was employed as an ideal me hodological ool in social sciences o ga he
pa icipan s’ pe cep ions (Lun & Li ings one,1996) and conce ns h ough in e ac ion,
hus acili a ing a quali a i e analysis (Wilkinson,1998). Unlike he so-called “discussion
g oup,” he ocus g oup be e mee s he needs o his esea ch as i allows o guiding he
discussion mo e e ec i ely using a p e-es ablished ques ionnai e and ob aining indi idual
esponses om pa icipan s ha a e syne gis ic and compa able (Domínguez & Dá ila,
2008, p. 105).
This second me hodological s age hus add esses one o he s a ed esea ch objec i es:
analyzing audience pe cep ions o published jou nalis ic con en and media beha io in
ligh o he con en analysis by p esen ing news examples o pa icipan e alua ion. This
led o he p epa a ion o hese ocus g oups.
The wo king sessions we e held on 24 and 25 No embe 2022 a he College o Eu ope
in Na olin (Poland). This academic ins i u ion o e s an Ad anced Mas e ’s in Eu opean In-
e disciplina y S udies, b inging oge he 125 s uden s each yea om ac oss he con inen ,
as well as om o he egions, such as No h A ica and he Middle Eas . These s uden s
come om a ious ields o s udy, a e mul ilingual, and ha e s ong academic eco ds.
Since he ocus g oups aimed, on he one hand, o inco po a e pa icipan in e disciplina i y
and, on he o he , o ensu e hei quali ica ions as in o ma ion consume s wi h c i ical
hinking skills, he College o Eu ope p o ed o be an app op ia e se ing o his s udy.
Two sepa a e ocus g oups, each las ing wo hou s, we e conduc ed. Each session,
mode a ed by he esea ch eam and conduc ed in English, wo ked wi h a g oup o s uden s
anging om six o eigh pa icipan s, a ange ha au ho s like P ie o and Ma ch (2002)
conside ideal. In o al, he e we e ou een pa icipan s (six men and eigh women) om
nine di e en coun ies (Poland, Po ugal, Uk aine, Alge ia, Uni ed Kingdom, F ance,
Spain, Lebanon, and I eland), wi h p e ious s udies in up o eigh di e en disciplines
(Law, Business Adminis a ion, Jou nalism, Philology, In e na ional Rela ions, Poli ical
Science, His o y, and Economics). All pa icipan s, aged 24 o 30, we e pa o he “Nes ”
wo king g oup on disin o ma ion wi hin he a o emen ioned Ad anced Mas e in Eu opean
In e disciplina y S udies and we e ec ui ed h ough he p o esso esponsible o ha
wo king g oup, who se ed as a key in o man o iden i y hose wi h sui able p o iles o
pa icipa e in he sessions.
In his way, he ocus g oups we e o med based on elemen s o homogenei y among
pa icipan s as hey sha ed common expe iences wi hin he same uni e si y campus, simila
educa ional le els, and speci ic aining ele an o his s udy. Meanwhile, di e si y was
ensu ed in e ms o gende , backg ound, and coun y o o igin o analyze he ex en o
which hese a iables migh a ec hei pe cep ion and e alua ion o he news.
The Ques ionnai e
Each session began wi h a b ie ing on he esea ch p ojec associa ed wi h he ocus
g oup, as well as an ou line o he p ocedu e o be ollowed du ing he session. The
second pa o he p esen a ion included a ques ionnai e wi h en ques ions and exam-
ples o in o ma ion published by he media ou le s in he analysis sample o es ablish
compa isons among hem and measu e pa icipan s’ pe cep ions acco dingly. As each o
he en examples was displayed on mul iple sc eens in he class oom, pa icipan s had
access on hei compu e s o an online o m con aining all he con en o espond o he
ques ions indi idually. O he ou een ocus g oup pa icipan s, only eigh submi ed a
comple ed o m.
The ques ionnai e was di ided in o wo sec ions o i e open-ended ques ions each
(Table 2) and, a he end o each sec ion, a g oup discussion was ini ia ed among pa icipan s
o ga he opposing opinions and iewpoin s in addi ion o he esponses hey had al eady
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 8 o 18
w i en on hei espec i e o ms. Thus, he ocus g oup would yield wo ypes o esul s:
he collec ion o comple ed o ms om pa icipan s and he eco ding o sessions wi h hei
con ibu ions, which would la e be ansc ibed o analysis.
Table 2. Ba e y o ques ions posed in he ocus g oups. Sou ce: au ho ’s own elabo a ion.
Q1 To wha deg ee do you hink hese wee s a emen s a e ue, pa ly ue, o alse?
Q2 Do you conside hese s a emen s in o ma ion, in e p e a ion, o commen ?
Q3 Which one is he mos based on ac s and which one is he leas ac ual?
Q4 Which wee is he mos a ac i e and appealing (in o de o ob ain engagemen )? Why?
Q5 Which angle o he s o y is he mos comple e acco ding o he numbe and quali y o sou ces employed in he
piece o news?
Q6 Wha pa s o he s o y a e mo e biased by aking in o accoun hose absen elemen s and poin s o iew ha
would be necessa y o comple e he s o y?
Q7 To wha deg ee do hese headlines p ope ly lead o unde s anding he s o ies o a e hey no di ec ly ela ed o he
main elemen o he epo ed opic?
Q8 Please, compa e hese pieces acco ding o he kind o sou ces employed in hem.
Q9 Please, compa e hese pieces o news by he opic deal wi h and i hey a e based on newswo hy c i e ia and can
be ega ded as gene al in e es / ele an news.
Q10 To wha deg ee do you hink hese wee s a emen s a e ue, pa ly ue, o alse?
The ocus g oup included ques ions ela ed o en di e en s a emen s (shown as
sc eensho s) om he analysis sample. To enable compa isons wi hin each ocus g oup,
i was essen ial o ha e news i ems om di e en media on he same opics, allowing us
o ans e elemen s examined in he con en analysis o he ocus g oup. This led us o
ex ac om he sample o 60 news i ems hose ha had been published by o he media
o compa ison.
The selec ed news i ems we e COVID-19 ( h ee o ou media ou le s), he Pando a
Pape s (gene al and a speci ic s o y abou Pu in; only in he h ee conso ium esea ch
media: Le Monde, The Gua dian, and El País), he a endance o o me People’s Pa y
leade in Spain, Pablo Casado, a a mass in memo y o dic a o F ancisco F anco (The
Gua dian, El País, and Eldia io.es), he Ci izen’s Secu i y Law o “Gag Law” acco ding o
he Council o Eu ope (El País and Eldia io.es), and he ape accusa ion o a o me B i ish
Conse a i e MP (The Gua dian and To oise). The F ench digi al ou le Médiapa did
no o e lap wi h any o he ou le , no e en wi h Le Monde, on na ional o F ancophone
opics. This is because hey p io i ize unique opics and in es iga ions o add alue o hei
co e age o subsc ibe s.
As he sample was conside ed insu icien o comple e he en i e ques ionnai e wi hin
he ocus g oup, i was expanded h ough Twi e ’s ad anced sea ch unc ion o include
all news published by he six media ou le s in his s udy ha co esponded wi h he same
opics and co e age as he wee -news i ems in he ini ial sample. To inc ease he sample
size, we used sea ch pa ame e s and keywo ds, such as he names o each media ou le
plus opics like COVID o pandemic, Pando a Pape s, Pu in, Spain, poli ical pa ies, Gag
Law, Council o Eu ope, B i ain/UK, F ance, and poli ics. This ex ended he scope o
analysis o a po en ial 300 wee -news i ems (n= 300). This expanded sea ch yielded
new examples, enabling he ocus g oup o inco po a e addi ional compa isons be ween
s a emen s and images.
In he double ocus g oup, c oss-compa isons we e made among wo o h ee ou le s,
ei he om di e en coun ies (COVID-19 o Pando a Pape s), o obse e he impac
Jou nal. Media 2025,6, 3 9 o 18
o jou nalis ic cul u e o he po en ial na ional pe spec i e on in e na ional opics, o
be ween wo ou le s om he same coun y (El País-Eldia io.es o The Gua dian-To oise),
o measu e he adi ional s. digi al-na i e a iable.
Wi h his dual objec i e, wo ypes o in o ma ion we e ini ially posed in he ocus
g oup ques ionnai e:
1. Headlines and wee s published by di e en media ou le s abou he same opic;
2. Twee s and hei espec i e links o news published by di e en media ou le s on
he same co e age.
Nex , a ques ion was included o assess whe he he deg ee o in o ma ional bias
a ies when he same media ou le add esses di e en opics o p o agonis s. In his case,
The Gua dian’s co e age o he appea ance o Russian P esiden Vladimi Pu in and his
Uk ainian coun e pa , Volodymy Zelensky, in he Pando a Pape s:
3. Headlines and wee s published by he same media ou le abou di e en news and
poli ical ac o s.
Finally, also wi h only one ques ion o his ype, a ques ion was asked ega ding he
newswo hiness c i e ia used o include chosen opics on he agenda. Fo his, wo o
he mos e wee ed news i ems in Eldia io.es and Médiapa we e selec ed o compa e
he dynamics be ween wo digi al-na i e ou le s om di e en coun ies. In his way, an
example om Médiapa was also included in he g oup discussion, as i was he only one o
he six media ou le s in he sample ha had no appea ed o he easons explained abo e:
4. Twee s and hei links o con en ha achie ed high engagemen and we e published
by di e en media ou le s.
In he ques ion se (Table 2), he o de ollowed he a iables analyzed in he i s
pa o his s udy (con en analysis). Since he main objec i e is o assess he ex en o
which audiences pe cei e and unde s and he ac uali y o news, he same ques ion was
asked a he beginning and end o he session ega ding pa icipan s’ gene al iew o he
s a emen shown and he deg ee o u h ulness o alsehood hey could de ec . By asking
his ques ion bo h a he s a and he end o he session, he sequence o examples and
ques ions se ed o check i , and o wha ex en , pa icipan s’ ini ial pe cep ions changed
o emained a e iewing a ious examples and, mos impo an ly, a e discussing hem
wi h o he s.
4. Resul s
The p io con en analysis o he six news media ou le s in he sample p o ided
he ounda ion o iden i y which publica ions would be p esen ed and discussed wi h
pa icipan s in he ocus g oups. Thus, o add ess he esea ch ques ions, a sequence o en
s uc u ed ques ions was p esen ed o he s uden s, bo h in he p esen a ion and ia a o m,
o ga he hei imp essions on he u h ulness, c edibili y, and bias o he in o ma ion
shown; he impo ance o sou ce usage (da a) and o he quali y measu es; and he impac o
con en p esen a ion and i s appeal o impac ; as well as he ele ance o o public in e es
in he analyzed news i ems.
4.1. Re lec ions Sha ed Du ing he Wo king Sessions
The con e sa ion gene a ed du ing he ocus g oups se ed as a s a ing poin o
e lec ion, la e expanded and nuanced by he o ms comple ed by pa icipan s. This dis-
cussion p ima ily aimed o analyze which ac o s may be mos decisi e o hese quali ied
use s o pe cei e and unde s and he in o ma ional con en hey consume in one way
o ano he .
Acco ding o pa icipan s, in analyzing he pe cep ion o a news i em, he alue o
accompanying images should be ca e ully conside ed as hese o en de e mine he one and
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