Political News Avoidance, Selective Exposure, and Misinformation: Information Threats and Opportunities in Contemporary Digital Democracies (Routledge Focus on Journalism Studies)

Drawing on primary empirical research, this book considers the democratic outcomes of political news avoidance, selective news exposure, and misinformation. Political information environments across democracies are in flux, fundamentally changing the way citizens gain political information and leading to widespread concerns about consequences for democracy.From selective media use leading to increased attitudinal polarisation, to declining trust in legacy media and journalists compounding political disengagement, the need for a detailed, comparative account of what these changes in the supply of, and demand for, political information mean for democracies is evident.This book focuses on three developments that are seen as particularly concerning for democracies: news avoidance, selective news exposure, and misinformation.Using in-depth interviews, webtracking,panel surveys, and experiments, it investigates the extent of these threats, their causes, consequences, and remedies.Further, it