References to nationality in crime reporting: Effects on perceived news credibility and the moderating role of xenophobia

Abstract

In many Western countries, right-wing populists have accused mainstream media of disguising criminals’ foreign origins for the sake of political correctness. To avert a loss in credibility among certain audience segments, an increasing number of news media have therefore made it their policy to always report the nationality of perpetrators. Yet, whether references to nationality or the absence thereof affect credibility perceptions among audiences has not been empirically established. A between-subjects experimental study (N = 261) was conducted in Germany to fill this gap. The findings show that the effect of references to nationality on credibility perceptions depends substantially on news consumers’ pre-existing social attitudes. Among xenophobic participants, references to perpetrators as foreign citizens enhanced perceptions of media credibility; the opposite tended to be true for participants with low xenophobia. Practical implications for news practitioners and avenues for future research are discussed.