title: The influence of weight-of-evidence strategies on audience perceptions of (un)certainty when media cover contested science.
abstract: Controversy in science news accounts attracts audiences and draws attention to important science issues. But sometimes covering multiple sides of a science issue does the audience a disservice. Counterbalancing a truth claim backed by strong scientific support with a poorly backed argument can unnecessarily heighten audience perceptions of uncertainty. At the same time, journalistic norms often constrain reporters to "get both sides of the story" even when there is little debate in the scientific community about which truth claim is most valid. In this study, we look at whether highlighting the way in which experts are arrayed across truth claims-a strategy we label "weight-of-evidence reporting"-can attenuate heightened perceptions of uncertainty that can result from coverage of conflicting claims. The results of our study suggest weight-of-evidence strategies can indeed play a role in reducing some of the uncertainty audiences may perceive when encountering lop-sided truth claims.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA pakohl@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Patrice Ann
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kohl
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
authors.forename: Soo Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Yilang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akin
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
authors.forename: Eun Jeong
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-Sorbonne, France.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dunwoody
mesh_terms: D033181:Information Dissemination; D008402:Mass Media; D010465:Perception; D011639:Public Opinion; D012586:Science; D035501:Uncertainty
keywords: balance; controversy; false balance; mass media; science communication; science journalism; uncertainty; weight of evidence