Age-tailored Strategies
Explanatory Articles & Interactive Stories
Visual Stories
Promoting
a Sense of Agency
to Overcome Apathy
a Sense of Agency
to Overcome Apathy
False Overestimation
of Identifying Fake News
of Identifying Fake News
Explanatory Journalism
Age-tailored Strategies
Stories engagement varies by age, with older audiences preferring in-depth formats like podcasts, while younger audiences are drawn to visually driven, concise stories formats like videos and infographics.
Recommendation
Tailor story formats to the preferences of different age groups to ensure that complex topics are accessible and engaging for all.
Case Study
Our partner from Hungary sought to expand its reach beyond the usual audience by addressing European GMO regulations, Hungarian food safety concerns, and Russian-influenced state propaganda manipulating these topics. They effectively reached Young Waverers and older audiences by providing expert insights and detailed analyses. Older audiences exhibited higher engagement with comprehensive articles, while younger audiences responded more positively to multimedia elements such as infographics and videos, which made complex topics more accessible.
Explanatory Articles & Interactive Stories
Explanatory articles that provide factual context without directly addressing disinformation can effectively engage tech-savvy audiences, but balancing depth with engagement is crucial.
Recommendation
- Detailed articles work well for tech-savvy audiences; incorporating simpler formats like Q&As can help make complex topics more accessible.
- Additionally, balance depth of the formats with engaging formats by repackaging the stories to ensure it doesn’t overwhelm readers that dont like text heavy formats, such as Young Waverers.
Case Study
Our Slovakian partner aimed to tackle healthcare hoaxes related to the expansion of mobile 5G networks by combining technological aspects of 5G deployment with health impact issues, fact-checked by leading experts. They utilized a mix of visual and written formats. A Q&A article on the topic attracted two-thirds of the readership of the main article, demonstrating that different approaches to the same topic can engage your readers better. This Science+ co-produced project also revealed that explanatory articles providing factual context garnered the highest engagement and positive comments, effectively building trust among tech-savvy audiences. However, videos and expert interviews were less effective, and some audience members, particularly Young Waverers, found the detailed stories overwhelming, highlighting the need for a more different approach and repackagin content to different formats that can engage the audience that dont like text heavy formats.
Visual Stories
Young Waverers engage more deeply with stories that leverage platforms like Instagram’s visual and interactive strengths. This allows sensitive political topics to be presented in an accessible and detailed format.
Recommendation
- To effectively engage Young Waverers on sensitive political issues, utilize Instagram's carousel format to present detailed yet accessible stories. Focus on creating visually appealing and interactive posts that encourage deeper engagement without overwhelming the audience.
- Tailor stories to the platform preferences and behaviors of younger audiences to maximize interaction and foster meaningful discussions.
Case Study
Our partner in Slovakia explored the voting behavior of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia, analyzing factors that influence their political decisions and engagement. They conducted surveys and interviews to gather data, combining this with historical and political analysis for a comprehensive overview. The project highlighted that while older audiences (predominantly women aged 55-64 and 65+) engaged well with single-image posts on Facebook, younger audiences (18-40), including Young Waverers, responded better to detailed carousel posts on Instagram. These posts allowed for a deeper presentation of information, which was crucial in addressing sensitive political topics in a way that resonated with younger, more skeptical audiences.
Promoting a Sense
of Agency
to Overcome Apathy
of Agency
to Overcome Apathy
Young Waverers, despite their high level of awareness of complex topics like energy insecurity and anti-migration narratives, often feel apathetic and believe that change is not possible.
Recommendation
- To effectively engage Young Waverers, focus in your stories on a sense of agency through how-to guides, practical tips, and constructive journalism.
- Create stories that show them how to identify and counter false narratives or highlight success stories of initiatives that have worked.
- Additionally, connect these complex topics to everyday concerns like cost of living, education, and housing through first-person accounts and relatable examples, demonstrating the relevance of these issues in their daily lives. This approach will help transform their anxieties into an empowered agency.
Case Study
While Young Waverers are well-informed about key narratives such as energy insecurity, anti-migration, and state-sponsored propaganda, they tend to be apathetic and disengaged, feeling that their actions cannot bring about change. Our surveys and social media analysis from multiple partners’ projects show that this group is interested in news on complex topics but lacks a sense of agency. They need stories that not only inform but also empower them to see how these issues impact their daily lives and how they can make a difference.
False Overestimation of Identifying Fake News
Young audiences often overestimate their ability to identify false information, relying on intuition rather than actively flexing their media literacy.
Recommendation
- Leverage quizzes to understand how your audiences interact with false information.
- Use these interactive tools to challenge assumptions and encourage deeper reflection on media literacy, particularly among younger audiences who may overestimate their ability to discern fake information.
- This approach not only engages the audience but also promotes a more informed and critical perspective on the information they consume.
Case Study
Our Hungarian partner developed with Science+ an effective format of quizzes designed to test whether audiences could identify fake news quickly. We put these quizzes in Instagram Stories and in-article embeds, with a concluding link to articles that allowed audiences to improve their knowledge. The partner’s audience largely believed they could identify fake news based on intuition alone, with 70% agreeing with this statement. However, the quizzes effectively challenged this assumption and encouraged deeper reflection. This approach is particularly crucial, as our recent focus group findings indicate that young audiences across the region make little effort to improve their media literacy.
Explanatory Journalism
Explanatory journalism is highly effective in educating audiences about false narratives and their origins, particularly among younger audiences who are digitally savvy but may not recognize their susceptibility to misinformation.
Recommendation
- Prioritize explanatory journalism when addressing false narratives, particularly in a digital context.
- Focus on educating the audience about the origins, mechanisms, and beneficiaries of misinformation, using clear examples and connecting the topic to their daily lives and concerns. This approach is particularly effective with young, digitally savvy audiences who may not fully recognize their vulnerability to disinformation.
- In your stories, show why these topics matter to the audience to help foster greater awareness and critical thinking.
Case Study
Our newsroom partners, accustomed to producing educational stories on scientific topics, have seen promising results from applying an educational and explanatory angle to disinformation topics. When addressing false narratives, partners have not only debunked the misinformation but also explained where these narratives originate, how they spread (including the role of social media algorithms and tools like GenAI in deepfakes), and who benefits from them. Examples include our Hungarian partner reporting on bot farms, the Like League campaign about politicians and social media, and other Hungarian media explainers on deepfakes. The Science+ team recommended explanatory journalism as a key strategy to address the audience’s belief that they are not susceptible to false narratives. This approach has proven especially popular with young audiences adept at navigating the digital landscape.