Media matters: a mixed-method look into the research on misinformation and communication over 30 years

Abstract We use a large-scale mixed-method analysis to examine changes in misinformation research over three decades, with a particular attention to the role of media research. We examine a corpus of more than 7,000 academic studies, published between 1993 and 2022, analyzing changes in volume, topics, and methods used. Employing computational text and network analyses, we show how the meteoric rise in misinformation research in the 2010s was driven by a paradigm shift brought about by technological innovations and changes in the media and political landscape. We discuss the growing role communication scholars played in misinformation research, and offer recommendations for areas of strength in which communication research could further extend our understanding of the prevalence, nature, and effects of misinformation moving forward.