Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Releases Unprecedented Report Detailing Digital Media Use Among Asian Americans
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC) unveiled groundbreaking qualitative research outlining how members of the Asian American community receive news, interact with online narratives and seek information digitally: Beyond Language Translation: Asian Americans, News and Information Seeking, and the Circulation of Problematic Narratives Online1.
Given limited existing in-depth research on how members of the Asian American community receive their news and consume problematic and/or misleading narratives, Advancing Justice – AAJC sought to hear directly from impacted individuals and test assumptions often made from anecdotal evidence and personal experiences. At a time when tech companies are dismantling content moderation protections, artificial intelligence is developing rapidly with minimal guardrails, and our information ecosystems are increasingly polarized, insights from this report are important now more than ever.
Advancing Justice – AAJC, in collaboration with Dr. Matthew Bui and David Mori of the University of Michigan, conducted a series of 12 focus groups comprised of 101 youth and adults aged 15-91 to analyze digital media spaces frequented by Asian American community members to better understand how individuals across age, ethnic groups, immigration generation and English-language abilities uniquely approach and interact with narratives online. The sessions found that:
- Asian Americans have differing views and understandings about how digital conversations about politics can be shaped by misinformation.
Older adults trust traditional forms of media more than digital news outlets and social media. Youth and younger adults were generally skeptical about all media sources but trusted digital and social media channels.
Gaps in trust in the current media landscape are often exploited for destructive outcomes such as targeted disinformation campaigns.
Seniors and newer immigrants reported relatively higher exposure to scams and misinformation.
Digital divides exacerbate issues of information access, especially access to government and community services and resources.
“Digital media and information are an increasingly indispensable part of American life. This research is just the beginning in understanding how Asian Americans navigate the digital landscape and how to combat mis- and disinformation online,” said Lia Nitake, Senior Director of Technology, Telecommunications and Media Policy at Advancing Justice – AAJC. “This report emphasizes that Asian Americans are not a monolith – and neither are their information seeking habits.”
The preliminary results of these focus groups have also helped develop a parallel, multilingual survey addressing similar themes. A report with the findings from this survey will be published later in 2025.
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Links
- https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/publication/beyond-language-translation