News story aggregation and perceived credibility

Abstract

The practice of aggregating news content—repurposing content created by other news organizations—raises questions about credibility. This experimental study suggests that news organizations can boost credibility of aggregated content by more clearly identifying originating sources than by increasing or decreasing the use of aggregation. Relationships between levels of aggregation and credibility showed little or no significance, while relationships between credibility and receivers’ confidence in identifying originating sources were significant.