Cryptographic tools for authenticating the provenance of web-based information are a promising approach to increasing trust in online news and information. However, making these tools’ technical assurances sufficiently usable for news consumers is essential to realizing their potential. We conduct an online study with 160 participants to investigate how the presentation (visual vs. textual) and location (on a news article page or a third-party site) of the provenance information affects news consumers’ perception of the content’s credibility and trustworthiness, as well as the usability of the tool itself. We find that although the visual presentation of provenance information is more challenging to adopt than its text-based counterpart, this approach leads its users to put more faith in the credibility and trustworthiness of digital news, especially when situated internally to the news article.

With the pervasive and evolving use of tracking and AI to make inferences about online platform users, it has become imperative for adolescents—a key demographic using such platforms—to develop a deep understanding of these practices to protect their privacy. Traditionally, K-12 cybersecurity education has largely been confined to extracurricular activities, limiting underrepresented students’ access. To resolve this shortcoming, we partnered with a rural-identifying middle school to deliver AI-related privacy education in classrooms. Using Design-Based Research methodology, we identified students’ AI-related privacy learning needs and developed six education modules. This paper focuses on the design, classroom implementation, and evaluation of module #2, covering the privacy threats of Tracking and Pervasive Personalization (TaPP). Student assessment outcomes show they developed transferable foundational knowledge of the privacy implications of tracking and personalization after participating in the TaPP module. Our findings demonstrate the benefits of integrating AI-related privacy education into existing K-12 curricula.

Drawing upon theories from communication studies and cognitive psychology, this research develops a multitheoretical model that identifies human and technological factors that predict social media distraction engagement and explains how social media distractions can lead to negative consequences across various tasks. This model is empirically tested using data from a survey of U.S. mobile phone users (N = 1,026). The results from a structural equation modeling analysis support the model’s predictions that a person’s age, fear of missing out, smartphone checking habit strength, and the number of social media applications with notifications enabled all impact a variety of distraction behaviors and consequences. The findings show that communication technology distraction behavior is influenced by a complex intertwining of goal-driven communication and information-seeking behaviors, automatic processes in the brain, and technology affordances.

Americans' trust in news is declining, and authenticity and transparency challenges in digital publishing contexts pose unique challenges to the ability to effectively gratify their information-seeking needs via online media. Cryptographic technologies and web-based provenance indicators have the potential to enhance the trustworthiness and transparency of digital communication, but better understandings of news consumers practices and needs are required to develop practical tools. Through a representative online survey of 400 digital news consumers and 19 follow-up interviews, we investigate how users authenticate and assign trust to news content, and identify specific needs pertaining to news transparency and authentication that could be met by digital news authentication tools. While many users currently rely on political ideology to assess news trustworthiness, we find that users of all political orientations see value in independent provenance and authentication tools for digital news.