Content Confusion
News Media, Native Advertising, and Policy in an Era of Disinformation
$105.08
- Paperback
332 pages
- Release Date
16 December 2025
Summary
We often blame social media for the rampant problem of disinformation, but the truth is that mainstream news media is often equally at fault. Not only do news outlets disguise paid content to look like online news articles, a practice called “native advertising,” but new research suggests that this form of advertising even influences the real journalism that appears next to it—both perceptions of the journalism as well as its actual substance.
In Content Confusion, Michelle A…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262553605 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0262553600 |
| Author: | Michelle A. Amazeen, Mara Einstein |
| Publisher: | MIT Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | MIT Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 332 |
| Release Date: | 16 December 2025 |
| Weight: | 369g |
| Dimensions: | 229mm x 152mm |
| Series: | Information Policy |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
ENDORSEMENTS
“I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Impeccably researched, trenchantly argued, and engagingly written, Amazeen’s penetrating analysis into the dangers of native advertising should be read by anyone concerned about the future of independent media and democratic society.”
—Victor Pickard, C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy and Codirector of the Media, Inequality & Change Center, University of Pennsylvania
“With leading research and engaging writing, Amazeen’s Content Confusion convincingly shows how ‘native advertising’—a new form of propaganda—is duping consumers and eroding independent media. A must-read.”
—Sander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Cambridge; author of Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity
“At a time when the credibility of legacy news media is under attack from outside forces, Michelle Amazeen’s Content Confusion reveals a largely overlooked danger from within: ‘native advertising’ disguised as legitimate journalism. Amazeen’s work is innovative, timely, and important.”
—David Boardman, Dean, Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University
“[Content Confusion] delivers a stark warning to outlets that native ads are eroding the public’s trust in media and poisoning the role of journalism in democracy.”
—ExxonKnews
“Content Confusion is a valuable addition to scholarship on journalism, advertising and disinformation.”
—News Research Journal
“A rigorous and timely examination of native advertising, its implications for journalism and democratic society, and the associated normative and legal issues that deserve careful attention.” —Journal of Media Ethics
“This well-written book provides fresh insights and strategies that supplement publications about the creation of news media disinformation.”
—Choice
About The Author
Michelle A. Amazeen
Michelle A. Amazeen is Associate Dean of Research and Associate Professor of Mass Communication in the College of Communication at Boston University and is also Director of the Communication Research Center.
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