News by Subject Policy & Ethics

As anti-racism solidarity protests continue around the world, new research suggests mainstream media have a tendency to focus on the violence and spectacle of a protest rather than the substance. That mentality and approach need to change according to Summer Harlow, assistant professor of journalism at the University of Houston Jack J. Valenti School of Communication.

Facebook is a more fertile breeding ground for fake news than Twitter, and ideological extremists are most likely to spread it, according to a new study of 783 social media users.

Beverage companies spent $1.04 billion to advertise sugary drinks and energy drinks in 2018, a 26% increase compared to 2013, according to Sugary Drinks FACTS 2020, a new report from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut. The report documents continued extensive targeted advertising of sugary drinks by beverage companies directed to Black and Hispanic youth, which contributes to health disparities affecting communities of color -- the same communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

A single press release naming a company that has violated workplace health and safety regulations can result in a 73 percent improvement in compliance by other facilities, a Duke researcher finds in a study published in the American Economic Review. 'OSHA would have to conduct an additional 210 inspections to elicit the same improvement in compliance as sparked by a single press release about severe violations,' said researcher Matthew S. Johnson.

A new study sought to determine how consumers respond to potentially fraudulent reviews and how review portals (e.g., Amazon, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Yelp) can leverage this information to design better fraud-management policies and increase consumers' trust. It found that portals that include fraudulent reviews are more likely to boost buyers' trust.

A new study that examined the effectiveness of anti-piracy efforts in the United Kingdom found that blocking websites can be effective but only when multiple channels are blocked. The website blocking policies in the UK caused a decrease in overall piracy and a 7 to 12% increase in the use of legal subscription sites.

Pod-based e-cigarettes' efficient delivery of nicotine may foster greater dependence than other types of e-cigarettes. Stronger health communication messages are needed around the consequences of using these devices.

Although non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become powerful voices in world environmental politics, little is known of the global picture of this sector. A new study shows that environmental groups are increasingly focused on advocacy in climate change politics and environmental justice. How they do their work is largely determined by regional disparities in human and financial resources.

E-learning could be a crucial tool in the biosecurity fight against invasive alien species such as Japanese Knotweed, Zebra Mussels and Signal Crayfish according to a new study published in the academic journal 'Biological Invasions'.

A new study looked at the relationship between advertising by car manufacturers in US newspapers and news coverage of car safety recalls in the early 2000s. The study found that newspapers provided less coverage of recalls issued by manufacturers that advertised more regularly in their publications than of recalls issued by other manufacturers that did not advertise, and this occurred more frequently when the recalls involved more severe defects.