Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that Americans may be as much influenced by reader comments at the end of science news articles as by the articles themselves, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In the study, 2,000 people read a balanced new report about nanotechnology, and then a series of invented comments. One group saw civil comments; another were given more “uncivil” comments to read.
“Disturbingly, readers’ interpretations of potential risks associated with the technology described in the news article differed significantly, depending only on the tone of the manipulated reader comments posted with the story,” wrote authors Dominique Brossard and Dietram A. Scheufele, whose paper appeared in the journal Science. “In other words, just the tone of the comments…can significantly alter how audiences think about the technology itself.”
The authors also stated that knowledge of science did not seem to mediate the effects of the comments.
“In a discussion, when you see people frowning, it influences how you feel about the discussion,” Brossard said. “So how does that translate to the online community?” She believes her findings may show how important it is for websites to manage comments on news articles.
