For class, I read “Exploring the Impact of Modality on Perceptions of Credibility for Online News Stories” by Kiousis. Kiousis explored how multimedia content impacts how news outlets are perceived by readers. After conducting a study amongst college students, he concluded that multimedia content has little to no impact on perceived credibility of news sources.

Honestly, I disagree with these findings based on my own experience. Though I’m not an expert and I have conducted no research on this matter, I believe that multimedia content enhances a news source’s credibility when it is executed well.

During the 2020 election coverage, news outlets that provided engaging content like interactive maps felt more credible to me. Especially during a time where misinformation circulates so rapidly, news outlets that have resources and clearly speak with experts are more credible in my opinion than those that do not.

Additionally, the research did not utilize a large enough sample size in my opinion. A sweeping generalization that modality has no impact on credibility cannot be concluded when you only conducted the survey with 64 students.

I believe that a larger and more diverse sample size would lead to different results. I do believe that modality impacts credibility.