Understanding disinformation as narratives in the hybrid media ecosystem: Evidence from the US

Summary

This study reconceptualizes disinformation in the United States not as a collection of discrete false claims but as recurring narratives that circulate across the hybrid media ecosystem. Drawing on a representative survey conducted in four U.S. states in mid-2023, the authors examine how cumulative, cross-outlet exposure to such narratives shapes public belief. They argue that both the frequency of exposure and the substantive content of the narrative jointly determine persuasive impact, situating the analysis within hybrid media systems theory and shifting the unit of analysis from individual falsehoods to the storylines that knit them together.

Key Contributions

• Proposes a narrative-based framework for studying disinformation that foregrounds its circulation across the hybrid media ecosystem rather than its appearance as isolated claims.
• Provides empirical evidence from a multi-state U.S. survey linking cross-media exposure to belief in specific disinformation narratives.
• Highlights that narrative content — not just repetition — is a key determinant of persuasive power.

Methods

The authors analyze a representative survey fielded in four U.S. states in mid-2023, measuring respondents’ exposure to disinformation narratives across multiple media outlets alongside their belief in those narratives. This design allows them to estimate the relationship between cumulative, cross-platform exposure and belief formation.

Findings

• Disinformation narratives recur frequently across distinct media within the hybrid ecosystem, rather than being confined to particular outlets.
• Higher levels of exposure to a narrative are associated with stronger belief in it.
• Persuasiveness varies meaningfully by narrative content, indicating that some storylines travel and convince more effectively than others independent of exposure volume.

Connections

This paper’s narrative-and-ecosystem framing connects to work on cross-platform diffusion and amplification of misleading content such as Gonzalez-Bailon2024-rq and Giglietto2019-e9be81c1, and to research on belief formation and persuasion under repeated exposure like van-der-Linden2026-jt and Hameleers2026-mc. Its focus on recurring storylines also resonates with studies of disinformation campaigns and rumoring as narrative phenomena, including Starbird2025-jj and Marwick2025-ov.