Engaging with the other side: using news media literacy messages to reduce selective exposure and avoidance

Abstract

We examined whether news media literacy (NML) messages attenuate selective exposure and avoidance. One week before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, participants were randomly assigned to see a NML video advertisement before entering a simulated news aggregation website where behaviors were unobtrusively tracked. For three of the four NML messages, higher levels of partisan selective exposure among Republicans compared to Democrats in the control condition were reduced to non-significance. There were no effects on selective avoidance for either group. Several NML messages limited partisan selective exposure among Republicans, offering a concrete option for addressing problems of selective exposure online.