Authors:	Jost, Pablo Kruschinski, Simon Sülflow, Michael Haßler, Jörg Maurer, Marcus
Title:	Invisible transparency : how different types of ad disclaimers on Facebook affect whether and how digital political advertising is perceived
Online publication date:	1-Mar-2024
Year of first publication:	2022
Language:	english
Abstract:	One central measure set out in the regulation of digital political advertising (DPA) concentrates on transparency disclaimers to make users aware that the respective content was bought and targeted at them with a specific intention by an advertiser. However, we lack scientific evidence about if and how users perceive transparency disclaimers of DPA on social media. This article aims to provide first empirical answers to these questions by drawing on a two-part eye-tracking study with 177 participants that compares the effect of different prominent ad disclaimers (i.e., versions previously [V1] and currently [V2] used by Facebook as well as a self-designed [V3] disclaimer version) on the perception of DPA. We show that most users do not fixate on the ad disclaimers regardless of their prominence, nor does the prominence of the disclaimers affect the perceived intrusiveness and acceptance of the DPA. However, the recall and ad recognition were significantly lower for the less prominent ad disclaimers used by Facebook compared to our self-designed more prominent version, pointing to the shortcomings of the platform's current transparency rules. Altogether, our study allows a more substantiated discussion about how DPA is recognized and evaluated by users, which contributes to the debate about incorporating regulations for DPA.
DDC:	070 Nachrichtenmedien 070 News media 380 Handel 380 Commerce
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 02 Sozialwiss., Medien u. Sport
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-10140
Version:	Published version
Publication type:	Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Document type specification:	Scientific article
License:	CC BY-NC-ND
Information on rights of use:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Journal:	Policy & internet 15 2
Pages or article number:	204 222
Publisher:	Wiley
Publisher place:	Hoboken, NJ
Issue date:	2022
ISSN:	1944-2866
Publisher DOI:	10.1002/poi3.333
Appears in collections:	DFG-491381577-H