Signaling News Outlet Credibility in a Google Search

Abstract

This study extends the literature on how transparency influences news credibility perceptions by examining trust signals at the news outlet level, rather than at the story level, as earlier research has done. Experiments in the United States ( n = 1,037) and Germany ( n = 1,000) found that exposure to trust signals in a Google search about a known news brand, rather than an unknown brand, and the German cultural context increased news credibility perceptions. Participants were more likely to click on trust signals that gave background about the news brand or offered ways to engage with a news outlet.