Moving towards transparency for native advertisements on news websites

Subtitle:a test of more detailed disclosures

As readers often do not recognize the commercial nature of native advertising on news websites, clear disclosures are required to prevent deception. The present study therefore tests whether and how providing disclosures with more detailed information about both the authorship of native ads and the importance of advertising revenue for news medias business models can increase readers recognition and understanding of native advertising. Once readers are aware that they are viewing native advertising, the study assesses whether perceptions of transparency can positively influence readers evaluations of the credibility of native advertising, advertisers and news media in general. Results of the online experiment that tested four disclosure types (N = 453) show that, compared to using standard disclosures such as partner content and sponsored by [brand], providing more detailed disclosures leads to higher perceived sponsorship transparency, which in turn increases credibility of native advertising, advertisers and news media in general.

Publication year:2020

Keywords:A1 Journal article

BOF-keylabel:yes

BOF-publication weight:3

CSS-citation score:3

Authors from:Higher Education

Accessibility:Open