Faculty Voices: Journalism Professor Shares How to Find Trustworthy Local News Influencers on Social Media

New Jersey’s Local News Influencers, a new study from Montclair State University’s Center for Cooperative Media, explores how social media influencers are helping to fill the news void left by the downsizing or elimination of local newsrooms throughout New Jersey. 

After analyzing nearly 4,000 posts and studying more than 50 influencers, the researchers found that while lifestyle content dominated, about one in four posts from New Jersey influencers included news, opinion or educational content, providing a meaningful information-sharing function. 

With traditional newsroom coverage of things like high school sports, local news, community events or restaurant reviews in decline, influencers are picking up the slack and covering them, often with significant engagement from local audiences. 

However, even if they share news, most influencers are not journalists and are not bound by the institutional accountability or have the editorial oversight that a journalist would. 

So what can a news consumer do to find trustworthy journalism on social media? 

Carrie Brown, associate professor of Journalism and Digital Media in the College of Communication and Media, is co-author of the study and a specialist in engagement journalism. Here, Brown shares tips on what to look for to find reliable, trustworthy news content from New Jersey social media influencers.  

Look for Transparency in What Influencers Post 

Trustworthy news content on social media comes from trustworthy influencers, but finding one isn’t always easy, Brown says. Unlike well-known news outlets such as The New York Times, Fox News or NJ.com, influencers don’t have an “institutional brand” or credentials we can rely on to gauge their trustworthiness. 

“One of the things that people can really look for is transparency,” she says. “For example, are they being paid? Who is paying them? How do they handle the ethics of that and do they explain their process a little, like where they're getting the information from?” 

Looking for an influencer who is transparent and upfront about these things is a good place to begin, Brown says. “People don't necessarily trust you from the get-go, so you have to employ some of these things like being transparent and explaining to people how you know what you know.” 

Pay Attention to How Influencers Handle Facts and Sources 

Brown suggests looking for evidence that an influencer checks their facts and makes an effort to verify their sources. 

“Obviously, in some circumstances, it can be kind of hard to tell those things,” she acknowledges. “But if you do find someone where those are the kinds of things that they're consistently addressing, that's a really good sign that that person is definitely more trustworthy than others.” 

To verify what an influencer is saying, news consumers may want to do their own fact checking too. “Maybe Google them or look for another source that says the same thing so they can kind of triangulate on that.” 

Brown notes that it’s especially important to be on guard when the topic is a hot-button, controversial issue. “That's when the incentives are really high to throw some clickbait out there. So your caution should increase depending on what the topic is and whether or not the emotions are running high.” 

Consider Influencer Responsiveness and Consistency 

Another clue to an influencer’s reliability, Brown says, is if they are responsive to their audience. “If people leave comments that have questions or say, ‘I don't think that's right,’ do they respond? Or if they do get something wrong, do they disclose that afterwards?” 

Brown believes that consistency is also important in building trust since the influencer/audience relationship takes time to develop and is rarely an instant connection. 

“If you keep coming back over time and that person is consistently transparent and they share with you, ‘Here's how I get this information,’ that might be something where over time you build up a bit more trust than you would for someone who just sort of pops up randomly in your feed, as they do from time to time.”