Journalistic styles, fake news and trust in journalism: Drawing the connections

Fake news about politics and its influence on public discourse have become increasingly important areas of study. However, there is still limited knowledge about how the journalistic style of a fake news story affects its credibility in the eyes of the readers. In order to contribute to this emerging field of research, we conducted a survey experiment in Norway, Italy and Poland to investigate whether the style of a fake news message, presented as either a broadsheet or a tabloid, influences readers’ perception of its truthfulness. Additionally, we examined how providing information about fact-checking can potentially modify this perception. By doing so, our study sheds light on the under-researched question of whether different journalistic styles impact the way fake news is received and believed.