Sociological Spectrum

Mid-South Sociological Association

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Net legitimacy: internet and social media exposure

and attitudes toward the police

Jonathan Intravia, Andrew J. Thompson & Justin T. Pickett

To cite this article: Jonathan Intravia, Andrew J. Thompson & Justin T. Pickett (2020): Net
legitimacy: internet and social media exposure and attitudes toward the police, Sociological
Spectrum, DOI: 10.1080/02732173.2020.1720554

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2020.1720554

Published online: 17 Feb 2020.

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SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM
https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2020.1720554

Net legitimacy: internet and social media exposure

and attitudes toward the police
Jonathan Intraviaa, Andrew J. Thompsonb, and Justin T. Pickettb
a
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA; bSchool of
Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA

ABSTRACT
Prior research suggests that exposure to adverse news stories involving
the police negatively impacts consumers’ attitudes toward these actors.
Yet, most investigations have neglected to examine contemporary media
diets, such as online consumption and engagement, and attitudes toward
the police. Using a sample of mostly young adults, the current study
contributes to the media effects literature by examining the relationships
between online (Internet and social media) consumption and engagement
and attitudes toward police legitimacy. Results indicate that consuming
negative police stories on the Internet is associated with perceiving the
police as less legitimate. Furthermore, this relationship varies by political
ideology but not race. Findings and direction for future research
are discussed.

Introduction
Scholars have recently alluded to a “legitimacy crisis” happening throughout the United States
after several high-profiled incidents of misconduct/deadly force involving the police and (mostly)
unarmed black males were captured on video captivated the national media and audience (Nix
and Pickett 2017; Weitzer 2015a, 2015b). Perhaps the most notable of these negative police-citizen
encounters occurred in Ferguson, Missouri in August of 2014, where police officer Darren
Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American male. Since 2014,
many additional killings involving the police on racial minorities have echoed across mass media
resulting in public street protests and demands for public reform (Lee, Weitzer, and Martinez
2018). These incidents led President Barack Obama to create a task force on 21st Century
Policing that signaled for improvements to the ways police officers can strengthen trust and col-
laboration within their communities. Further, if negative media coverage of law enforcement
results in less legitimacy among the public, this may hypothetically fuel what some have deemed
a “Ferguson effect” or “viral video effect” (Gramlich and Parker 2017; Nix and Pickett 2017).
According to this hypothesis, officers may “de police” and become less proactive in their duties
as a direct result of negative media attention, as well as indirectly through a perception that the
public does not appreciate the difficulty and dangerousness of their job because of negative media
coverage of police shootings (Lichtblau 2016; Nix and Pickett 2017; Shjarback et al. 2017).
Research suggests the legitimacy crisis may be due, in large part, to the number of incidences
of negative police-citizen encounters caught on video (Brown 2016; Nix and Pickett 2017). For
example, the widespread use of mobile devices that capture photos and record videos can quickly
go viral on the Internet and social media and increase the public’s exposure to negative

CONTACT Jonathan Intravia [email protected] Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Ball State University,
282, North Quad, Muncie, 47306, Indiana, USA.
ß 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

police-citizen encounters (Brown 2016; Nix and Pickett 2017; Toch 2012). In addition, body-
worn cameras, police dashboard cameras, and surveillance systems can capture video evidence of
police misconduct as well as make police work more visible to the public. In fact, not only are
the number of fatal police shootings caught on video increasing (Kindy et al. 2016), but the news
media is also covering more incidents of police misconduct (McLaughlin 2015). Relatedly, evi-
dence shows that negative police-citizen stories reported by mainstream news “may be contribu-
ting to a ‘new visibility’ and critique of police wrongdoing” (Lee et al. 2018:217). Stated
differently, news media today are reporting police misconduct with a more critical lens than in
previous times.
Media coverage of police misconduct may negatively affect citizens’ attitudes toward the police
(Kochel 2019; Weitzer 2002; Weitzer and Tuch 2004). This is not surprising given that individu-
als’ opinions/views about crime and justice-related content are often shaped by the media (Pickett
et al. 2015; Surette 2011). Although prior efforts have examined the link between negative police
coverage on attitudes associated with the police (Chermak, McGarrell, and Gruenewald 2006;
Weitzer 2002; Weitzer and Tuch 2004), notably absent from this line of work is research on the
influence of online media behaviors, such as consuming and engaging with news on the Internet
and social media. Indeed, little attention has been given to contemporary media habits (e.g., the
Internet and social media) on citizens’ perceptions toward the police, especially in era of “digital
media” in which citizens are increasingly consuming news on the Internet (Gottfried and Shearer
2017), and nearly two-thirds of adults receiving news from social media (Bialik and Matsa 2017).
Further, more than half of U.S. adults have been active on social media in the past year and
nearly four-in-ten social media users get involved in social issues and share their political opin-
ions on these platforms (Anderson et al. 2018). Thus, a critical question remains: how does online
media consumption and engagement with stories involving police misconduct and racial minor-
ities influence public sentiment on police legitimacy?
In the current study, we begin to address this gap in the literature with a sample of young
adults. Young people are not only more likely to hold negative attitudes toward the police (Ekins
2016; Hurst and Frank 2000), but studies also show they have more contact and interactions with
the police (including arrests) (Carr, Napolitano, and Keating 2007; Langton and Durose 2013).
Specifically, our study empirically and theoretically builds upon prior work on media effects and
policing attitudes in at least two important ways. First, because content that involves or provokes
negative emotions (i.e., anger or anxiety) is more likely to go viral online (Berger and Milkman
2013; Guadagno et al. 2013), it is not surprising that a cluster of videos involving police killings of
racial minorities has been heavily publicized in mass media (Weitzer 2015a). As a result of many
policing misconduct videos circulating rapidly across media platforms, we measure both Internet
and social media habits of consumers. Specifically, we measure both consumption (“how many
days”) and engagement (“comment, post, share”) with stories about police misconduct on racial
minorities. Second, research illustrates that public opinion regarding police use of force as well as
attitudes directed toward the police are divided across racial and political lines (Doherty, Kiley, and
Johnson 2017; Gerber and Jackson 2017; Johnson and Kuhns 2009; Morin and Stepler 2016;
Weitzer and Tuch 2004). Correspondingly, we account for two audience characteristics, race and
political ideology, that may moderate the relationships between online media consumption and
engagement on attitudes directed toward police legitimacy.

Theoretical background
As far as attitudes toward police go, legitimacy is unique in the sense that it pertains to a social
phycological process of deferral to authorities. Though there is disagreement among scholars
about the dimensions and antecedents of legitimacy (Tankebe 2013), a felt obligation to obey is a,
if not the, central dimension of police legitimacy (Tyler 2006). Additionally, police are perceived
 SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM 3

as legitimate when they use their authority in ways consistent with societal norms, generating
moral alignment among members of the public in the process (Sunshine and Tyler 2003b).
Because these judgements of police legitimacy may be made vicariously, including media exposure
to police use of force (e.g., Desmond, Papachristos, and Kirk 2016; Kochel 2019), research
addressing media effects on police attitudes may be advanced by the social psychological literature
of deference (e.g., Rice and Piquero 2005). As the process-based model of justice has been dedi-
cated to discerning the antecedents of legitimacy that shape public compliance with the law
(Pryce, Johnson, and Maguire 2017), attention to the consequences of Internet and social media
stories depicting police use of force is a necessary frontier as well. That is, news stories that depict
police use of excessive force may undermine the legitimacy, an institution with a virtual monop-
oly on use of force against citizens (Bittner 1970).
Prior research has identified a number of theories to understand how media exposure affects
attitudes toward the police. These frameworks focus on how media is consumed (e.g., cultivation),
perceived by audience members (e.g., reception research), and selected (e.g., selective exposure).
These mass communication theories were originally designed to understand the influence of
media on attitudes in traditional news formats (e.g., television); yet, scholars suggest they may be
germane in an online environment (Gauthier and Graziano 2018; Metzger 2009; Morgan and
Shanahan 2010) and have applied them in such settings to understand public opinion regarding a
variety of crime and justice-related topics (Baranauskas and Drakulich 2018; Dixon 2016; Dixon
and Josey 2013; Graziano and Gauthier 2018; Intravia and Pickett 2019; Intravia et al. 2017;
Kohm et al. 2012; Roche, Pickett, and Gertz 2016; Simmons 2017). The cultivation hypothesis
suggests that heavy exposure to media shapes our conceptions of social reality (Gerbner and
Gross 1976; Morgan, Shanahan, and Signorielli 2014). Stated differently, the more time spent con-
suming mass media (e.g., heavy users), the greater likelihood that individuals’ perceptions of the
real world will reflect the content portrayed in the media.
While earlier work in the cultivation framework assumed that media effects were homogenous
across all audiences, empirical evidence suggests that variations in consumers’ characteristics and
social backgrounds are important in the cultivation process (Doob and Macdonald 1979; Eschholz,
Chiricos, and Gertz 2003; Hirsch 1980). Stated differently, audience characteristics are salient in
moderating the influence of media consumption on attitudes directed toward crime and justice.
Broadly refereed to “audience reception research,” the cultivation process was expanded by Gerbner
and colleagues to include two key perspectives: mainstreaming and resonance (Gerbner et al. 1980).
The mainstreaming hypothesis suggests that despite group differences (e.g., demographics, ideolo-
gies, social backgrounds), heavy media exposure causes consumers to share similar beliefs. The res-
onance perspective argues that cultivation effects may be more pronounced, or amplified, among
individuals when media messages resonate with their own personal experiences and ideologies. One
way that media consumption can resonate with consumers’ attitudes and beliefs is through media
framing, which occurs when mass media, such as news organizations, socially construct events/
issues that can influence how audiences interpret the information (Entman 1993; Wright and Unah
2017). Media framing can enhance resonance through centrality, experiential commensurability,
and narrative fidelity (Baranauskas and Drakulich 2018; Benford and Snow 2000; Snow and
Benford 1988). Centrality takes place when frames are essential to the beliefs, values, and ideas of
consumers. Experiential commensurability occurs when frames are closely associated with audiences’
experiences and personal lives. And Narrative fidelity occurs when frames resonate with consumers’
cultural narrations, inherent ideologies, or assumptions.
Another key process by which media consumption can influence public opinion about crime
and justice-related issues is through selective exposure, which posits that individuals will seek
media content that aligns with their existing belief systems (Knobloch-Westerwick and Alter
2007; Melican and Dixon 2008). With respect to online mass communication (i.e., Internet news
and social media), individuals can select sites, search for content, and follow others that share
4 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

similar ideologies and avoid news and sources that are divergent to their beliefs. Research illus-
trates that individual characteristics, such as race, political ideology, and personal beliefs, can
enhance individuals’ tendency to engage in selective exposure (Appiah, Knobloch-Westerwick, and
Alter 2013; Intravia and Pickett 2019; Knobloch-Westerwick, Appiah, and Alter 2008; Stroud 2010).
Drawing from theory and previous research on media effects, we focus on two audience char-
acteristics that may moderate online media consumption of consumers’ attitudes toward the
police. First, we consider race because theories on media effects suggests that media consumption
can influence attitudes and perceptions toward agents of social control (i.e., the police) based on
consumers’ characteristics, backgrounds, and ideologies. Further, there is ample research indicat-
ing that in comparison to whites, African Americans (and other minority groups) are more likely
to hold negative attitudes toward the police (Brunson and Miller 2006; Hurst and Frank 2000;
Tyler 2005; Weitzer and Tuch 2004). In addition, recent surveys illustrate that African Americans
are less likely than whites to have confidence in the police (Morin and Stepler 2016) and say that
blacks are treated less fairly by the police (Gramlich 2019). Moreover, African Americans are
more likely to have contact with the police (via traffic stops and street stops) and perceive the
reason for the traffic stop as not legitimate (Langton and Durose 2013; Tyler and Wakslack 2004;
Tyler, Fagan and Geller 2014).
Second, because the selective exposure framework suggests that consumers select news content
that is consistent to their views, we consider consumers’ political ideology. In addition, research
shows that public opinion about crime and justice-related issues, including police use of force, is
often divided along political lines. Indeed, conservatives, compared to liberals, tend to be more
punitive in nature and accepting of police behaviors (Costelloe, Chiricos, and Gertz 2009; Gerber
and Jackson 2017; Roche et al. 2016). For example, a survey of U.S. adults illustrates that
Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say that police use the right amount of force
in situations (73% vs. 26%) and treat minority groups equally (78% vs. 26%) (Brown 2017). Thus,
consumer characteristics such as race and political ideology may be important factors influencing
the resonance of media frames and selecting media information that aligns with their beliefs (e.g.,
selective exposure).

Media consumption and attitudes toward the police

Negative media coverage of police
For the past several decades, scholars from various disciplines have been interested in under-
standing how media consumption impacts consumers’ attitudes/perceptions toward the police.
One area of research receiving a great amount of attention is consumers’ exposure to negative
media coverage of the police. Early research in this domain examined citizens’ perceptions of the
police after highly controversial and publicized police-citizen incidents captured on video (i.e.,
Rodney King, Malice Green) and/or other negative events involving the police that received mass
media attention (i.e., the Rampart scandal of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)).
Collectively, this body of research indicates that negative incidents of police misconduct have an
adverse effect on citizens’ attitudes about a variety of police behaviors such as honesty, excessive
use of force, and racial discrimination (Chermak et al. 2006; Jefferis et al. 1997; Lasley 1994;
Tuch and Weitzer 1997; Weitzer 2002). In fact, a recent assessment measuring the impact of citi-
zens’ attitudes before and after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri found that
African Americans attitudes, compared to other racial groups, became more negative following
the shooting about the frequency of aggressive policing, police legitimacy, and procedural justice
(Kochel 2019).
A large body of literature also focuses on more general media exposure to negative police con-
duct as opposed reactions from specific high-profile incidents (as noted above). Research in this
 SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM 5

area generally examines respondents’ consumption of news involving negative police incidents
(e.g., excessive force, misconduct) and their corresponding perceptions/attitudes regarding law
enforcement personnel. Findings illustrate exposure to negative news stories involving the police
increases perceptions of police misconduct and/or bias (Miller and Davis 2008; Graziano and
Gauthier 2019; Sethuraju et al. 2019; Weitzer and Tuch 2004; Weitzer and Tuch 2005a; Wu,
Smith, and Sun 2013). Further, consumption of adverse news stories involving the police nega-
tively impacts consumers’ attitudes regarding police legitimacy and/or trust (Graziano and
Gauthier 2018; Sun et al. 2013, 2014). Yet, the relationship between consuming negative police
stories and police satisfaction tends to show mixed results with some studies finding a negative
effect (Sun et al. 2016; Wu, Sun, and Smith 2011) and others finding no relationship (Weitzer
and Tuch 2005b; Wu, Triplett, and Sun 2012).

News and media consumption

The studies cited above have contributed a great deal to our knowledge and understanding of
exposure to negative stories involving the police and individuals’ attitudes directed toward these
actors. A related yet different line of research has examined the impact of various types of news
and media habits on attitudes toward the police. Collectively, newspaper consumption tends to
have little to no relationship with various attitudes toward policing, such as police effectiveness,
general attitudes (i.e., courteousness, professionalism), confidence, fairness, and police services
(Callanan and Rosenberger 2011; Chermak et al. 2006; Dowler 2002, 2003; Intravia, Wolff, and
Piquero 2018). In contrast, there is support illustrating that television news consumption, both
local and national news, plays an important role in shaping attitudes toward the police. Prior
research has found that television news consumption increases confidence in the police, fairness,
and expansion of police investigative powers (i.e., stop and questioning, searching, and using
force) (Callanan and Rosenberger 2011; Eschholz et al. 2003; Roche et al. 2016; for an exception,
see Intravia et al. 2018); however, Dowler and Zawilski (2007) found that national television news
consumption (but not local television news) was significantly related to consumers’ perceiving
police misconduct to be a common occurrence.
Several studies have examined other types of media consumption, such as entertainment pro-
graming (i.e., crime programs, police television shows) with policing-related outcomes. For
example, Donovan and Klahm (2015) found that consumers of crime drama-related television
programs are more likely to perceive that the police use force only when necessary, the police
lower crime, and police misconduct does not lead to false confessions (see also Eschholz et al.
2003). In a different study, consumers of crime-reality television programs increased confidence
in the police but had no effect on perceptions toward fairness and excessive force; whereas con-
sumers of crime-drama television shows had no effect with any of the policing outcomes
(Callanan and Rosenberger 2011). Other research has found no significant relationships between
consumers of entertainment television media and policing attitudes (Dowler 2002, 2003; Intravia
et al. 2018; Roche et al. 2016).
Less is known how consumption of online news/media influences consumers’ attitudes and
perceptions toward the police. Prior research in this area is limited and mixed. For instance,
Roche et al. (2016) did not find any support that Internet news consumption influences attitudes
toward expanding police powers. In contrast, Intravia et al. (2018) found that Internet news con-
sumption is negatively related—and social media use is positively related—to attitudes toward
police legitimacy. Finally, Graziano and Gauthier (2018) compared local television news con-
sumption and Internet news consumption and found that individuals who rely on local television
news were more likely to perceive the police as legitimate compared to those who rely on
Internet news (see also Gauthier and Graziano 2018).
6 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

It is important to note that online news sources are so diverse in reporting styles and content
that it remains unclear the effect different online mediums (e.g., a traditional newspaper with an
online presence vs. online only news) have on individuals’ attitudes. Relatedly, not all Internet
news sites are subject to the same types of controls on the quality or veracity of their reporting as
more traditional news media. As Westerman, Spence, Van Der Heide (2014:172) note about
Internet news and social media, and in accord with the selective exposure hypothesis, “Because
information provided in newer channels often lacks professional gatekeepers to check content …
consumers become more responsible for making decisions about the credibility of informa-
tion online.”

Audience characteristics
The aforementioned research also suggests that the effects of news consumption may differ based
on audience characteristics. Demographics, such as the race/ethnicity of consumers, are among
the most widely audience traits examined in prior work. For example, Eschholz et al. (2003)
found that watching television news improved confidence in the police among both white and
black consumers; whereas Callanan and Rosenberger (2011) found that consumption of television
news increased confidence in police only among whites but not blacks of Hispanics. With respect
to perceptions toward police misconduct, Dowler and Zawilski (2007) found that network televi-
sion news consumption increased perceptions of police misconduct among nonwhite consumers
only. Relatedly, Weitzer and Tuch (2004) found that consumption of negative media coverage
involving the police increased perceptions of police misconduct among whites, blacks, and
Hispanics; however, this relationship was stronger among black and Hispanic consumers (see also
Weitzer and Tuch 2005b).
Political ideology is another important audience characteristic that divides attitudes and per-
ceptions toward the police. For instance, prior studies show that those who identify as conserva-
tive or a related ideology (as opposed to liberal or moderate) are more likely to have confidence
in the police and are less likely to believe the police use excessive force (Callanan & Rosenberger
2011; Donovan and Klahm 2015; Gerber and Jackson 2017). Yet, little is known how political
ideology may moderate or influence the relationship between online media consumption and atti-
tudes toward the police. As stated by Gauthier and Graziano (2018:515), “ … as with most of the
research concerning negative coverage of policing … political beliefs is a notable limitation that
future research must address.” The importance of political beliefs in media effects research is also
expressed by Roche et al. (2016), whom suggests there is a political ideology effect when it comes
to Internet news consumption and attitudes toward crime and justice (see also Intravia and
Pickett 2019; Simmons 2017). Regarding media effects and policing, we are aware of a single
study that examines how the effects of media consumption on attitudes toward the police may
differ by political ideology (Miethe, Venger and Lieberman 2019). In this assessment, respondents
were randomly assigned to one of four videos involving police use of force that varied on the
media source and the suspect’s alleged crime. The authors found that those who identify as
Republicans had no effect on trusting the media source or accuracy of the videos; however,
Republicans were more likely to believe that the police use of force was less excessive and more
likely to believe police use of force was justifiable.

Current study
To date, prior research examining the relationship between media consumption and attitudes
toward the police has neglected to provide sufficient empirical and theoretical attention to the
role of online media habits, such as the Internet and social media. As noted above, the role of
consumers turning to online media (Internet and social media) to obtain the news is becoming
 SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM 7

omnipresent and a growing number of negative incidents involving law enforcement and minor-
ities is being heavily publicized in the news media. Similar to the arguments grounded in cultiva-
tion theory as well as prior efforts illustrating that consuming negative stories involving the
police adversely influences attitudes/perceptions toward these actors (Miller and Davis 2008;
Graziano and Gauthier 2019; Sethuraju et al. 2019; Wu et al. 2013), the first hypothesis that we
test is that: exposure to negative incidents involving the police and racial minorities on the Internet
and social media will negatively influence consumers’ perceptions of police legitimacy.
Beyond the cultivation framework, however, are theories and empirical evidence that suggest
that media effects may vary by audience characteristics. The resonance perspective suggests that
media effects will be more pronounced when individuals depicted in the media resemble—or
accord with—the consumer. Similarly, prior efforts suggest that media effects toward the police
may be divided across racial/ethnic lines. Specifically, news consumption and attitudes toward the
police tend to be more negative among minority consumers compared to white consumers
(Dowler and Zawilski 2007; Weitzer and Tuch 2004, 2005b). As such, race may plan an important
factor in the resonance perspective. Thus, the second hypothesis that we test is the relationship
between online news exposure and attitudes toward police legitimacy will be negative among non-
whites and positive among whites.
Last, selective exposure theory contends that individuals will consume media information that
corresponds with their beliefs/ideologies. Stated differently, media consumers may select informa-
tion, stereotypically, based on their political ideology (Knobloch-Westerwick and Alter 2007;
Knobloch-Westerwick et al. 2008). Consistent with the selective exposure framework, previous
studies illustrate that conservatives (as opposed to liberals) are more accepting of police behaviors
and/or perceive the police in a positive manner (Callanan & Rosenberger 2011; Donovan and
Klahm 2015; Gerber and Jackson 2017; Miethe et al. 2019). Therefore, the third hypothesis that
we examine is that the relationship between online news exposure and attitudes toward police legit-
imacy will be positive among conservatives and negative among liberals/moderates.

Data and methods

Sample
To test our hypotheses, multisite data were collected through an online survey administered to
mostly young adults attending two large universities located in the Northeast and Midwest in the
Fall of 2018. Researchers from the two locations attended various classes, addressing students
with a brief oral description and instructions for taking the survey. In the Northeast site, partici-
pants were recruited from two criminal justice courses and were provided with a weblink to
access and take the survey. In the Midwest site, participants were recruited and provided the sur-
vey weblink from five criminal justice class sections. Prior to accessing the online instrument, the
survey instructions explained the voluntary nature of participation, the anonymity of responses,
and that there were no penalties associated for not participating.
In order to measure the response rate, the researchers assigned each distinct class section with
a unique web address on SurveyMonkey. From there, the response rate was calculated by taking
the number of participants who took the survey divided by the number of individuals enrolled in
that specific course. The Northeast location yielded a response rate of 64.3% (196 surveys com-
pleted out of 305 students enrolled). The Midwest location resulted in a response rate of 63.9%
(304 surveys completed out of 476 students enrolled). Overall, between the two locations and
seven total classes surveyed, the response rate was 64.0% (500 surveys completed out of 781 stu-
dents enrolled). Just over half of the respondents reported being a criminal justice or criminology
major (51.9%). The final sample demographics consisted of 43.4% male, 69.4% white (12.2%
8 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

African American, 11.4% Hispanic/Latino, 7.0% other race/ethnicity), and a mean age of
19.3 years old.

Measures
Dependent variables
The key dependent variable is attitudes toward police legitimacy. Previous research exploring the
development and dynamics of this construct has led to various ways of measuring it. There is still
little consensus about the most appropriate way to gauge individuals’ attitudes toward police
legitimacy (Jackson 2018; Reynolds, Estrada-Reynolds, and Nunez 2018). Some researchers argue
that legitimacy is an outcome of procedural justice, and comprises a felt obligation to obey the
law, normative alignment, and trust (Jackson and Gau 2016:8; Tyler and Jackson 2014). Others
contend that procedural justice is a component of legitimacy (Tankebe 2013; Tankebe, Reisig and
Wang 2016). In Tankebe’s (2013:125) words: “what police researchers have persistently tended to
use as predictors of legitimacy (procedural fairness, distributive fairness, lawfulness, and effective-
ness) are rather the constituent parts of legitimacy.” As a result, we measure attitudes toward
police in two distinct ways.
First, consistent with Gerber and Jackson (2017), we measure attitudes toward police legitim-
acy with two dimensions that gauge “willingness to obey” and “normative alignment.” To meas-
ure willingness to obey, respondents were asked to report their level of agreement on a five-point
Likert-style scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree) with the following statements: (1) You
should support the decisions made by police officers even when you disagree with them, (2) You
should do what the police tell you even if you do not understand or agree with the reasons, and
(3) You should do what the police tell you to do even if you do not like how they treat you. The
items were reversed-coded so that higher scores equate to higher levels of agreement (a ¼ .741).
Normative alignment also asked respondents their level of agreement about the following state-
ments: “The Police … ” (1) generally have the same sense of right and wrong as you, (2) stand up
for values important to people like you, and (3) want the same things for your
community as you. The items were reversed coded and higher scores favor higher levels of agree-
ment (a ¼ .823). The two subscales are closely associated (r ¼ .745, p < .01) and a factor analysis
shows that all six items from the two indices produced a single factor, confirming the scale is
unidimensional (eigenvalue ¼ 2.609, loadings ranging from 0.577 to 0.788). As a result, all six
policing items were combined into a single average summed scale (a ¼ .810).
Second, we also include procedural justice as an outcome variable, given that some scholars
argue that it too is a component of legitimacy (Tankebe 2013; Tankebe, Reisig, and Wang 2016).
Similar to prior efforts (Pickett, Nix and Roche 2018; Tyler and Jackson 2014), procedural justice
is measured by asking respondents their level of agreement (strongly agree to strongly disagree)
to seven items about how police in their community act/treat citizens: (1) treat people with
dignity and respect, (2) treat people politely, (3) treat people fairly, (4) treat everyone equally,
(5) respect people’s rights, (6) take time to listen to people before making decisions about how to
handle a case, and (7) clearly explain the reasons for their actions. The items were reversed
coded so that higher scores equate to greater levels of perceiving the police to be procedurally
just (a ¼ .943). Further, factor analysis illustrates that all seven items load onto a single factor
(eigenvalue ¼ 5.027, loadings ranging from .742 to .890).

Independent variables
Our key independent variables gauge online media consumption with negative police stories in
two distinct ways: frequency and engagement. Consistent with prior research on contemporary
media effects (Intravia and Pickett 2019; Roche et al. 2016; Simmons 2017), Internet police news
 SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM 9

consumption and social media police news consumption were measured by asking respondents “In
a typical week, on how many days do you do each of the following … ?” (1) look at news stories
involving POLICE misconduct (e.g., shootings, excessive force, brutality) toward racial minorities
on Internet news websites (e.g., Yahoo.com, CNN.com, Foxnews.com, NYtimes.com) and (2)
look at news stories involving POLICE misconduct (e.g., shootings, excessive force, brutality)
toward racial minorities on social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Response
categories ranged from 0 to 7 days.
Recent research also illustrates that engaging with content online influences attitudes toward
crime and justice-related issues (Intravia 2019; Intravia and Pickett 2019). Further, around seven-
in-ten adults engage with news content online (Pew Research Center 2018). As a result of the
unique characteristics found with online media content (e.g., posting, sharing, commenting), we
also gauge three measures that focus on online media engagement with negative police stories.
Specifically, police news engagement was measured by asking respondents “How often do you do
the following?” (1) comment on news stories about POLICE misconduct (e.g., shootings, excessive
force, brutality) toward racial minorities on Internet news websites, (2) post, share, or comment
on news stories about POLICE misconduct (e.g., shootings, excessive force, brutality) toward
racial minorities on Facebook, and (3) tweet, retweet, or reply to news stories about POLICE mis-
conduct (e.g., shootings, excessive force, brutality) toward racial minorities on Twitter. Response
categories ranged from 1 ¼ never to 4 ¼ often.

Control variables
The present study also controls for several measures such as general media habits, correlates of
police attitudes, and demographics. First, we control for five media-related measures. Similar to
the media variables mentioned above, respondents were asked: “In a typical week, on how many
days do you do each of the following?”(1) watching television, (2) watch local television news, (3)
watch national television news (e.g., CNN, FOX News, MSNBC), (4) use the Internet, and (5)
watch television crime programs (such as Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, or Law & Order).
Response categories ranged from 0 to 7 days.
Next, we control for many correlates and potential confounders. Victimization is a dichotom-
ous measure that asked respondents if they have been a victim of a crime in the past year
(1 ¼ yes). Perceptions of neighborhood problems consisting of six items that asked respondents to
indicate “how much of a problem” were the following conditions in their “neighborhood”: (1)
vandalism, (2) drunks and drug users, (3) abandoned buildings, (4) burglaries and thefts, (5) run
down and poorly kept buildings, and (6) assaults and muggings. Response categories ranged from
1 ¼ a big problem to 3 ¼ not a problem and items were reversed coded and summed so that
higher scores equate to more serious neighborhood problems (a ¼ .876). Consistent to Berg et al.
(2016), we use two measures to capture negative police contact, both personally and among fam-
ily/friends (vicariously). Respondents were asked “in the past year” (1) have you been treated
unjustly or in a discriminatory manner by the police? And (2) has any of your family members
or friends been treated unjustly or in a discriminatory manner by the police? Response options
were dichotomous (1 ¼ yes).
Racial resentment includes four items that assess hostility toward blacks. Similar to prior stud-
ies (Pickett and Chiricos 2012; Unnever and Cullen 2010), respondents stated their level of agree-
ment (strongly disagree to strongly agree) to the following statements: (1) There is a lot of
discrimination against Blacks in the United States today, limiting their chances to get ahead, (2)
It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if Blacks would only try harder they
could be just as well off as Whites, (3) Over the past few years, Blacks have gotten less than they
deserve, and (4) Generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it
difficult for Blacks to work their way out of the lower class. We recoded responses that higher
10 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for key study variables.

Variables Mean (SD) Range
Police legitimacy 21.109 (4.543) 6–30
Procedural justice 25.004 (6.507) 7–35
Race (1 ¼ black) .138 0–1
Hispanic (1 ¼ yes) .114 0–1
Sex (1 ¼ male) .434 0–1
Age 19.266 (1.472) 18–34
Political status 2.855 (.940) 1–5
Household income 3.710 (1.823) 1–7
Criminal justice major (1 ¼ yes) .519 0–1
Victim (1 ¼ yes) .178 0–1
Personal negative police contact (1 ¼ yes) .092 0–1
Family/friends negative police contact (1 ¼ yes) .200 0–1
Neighborhood Problems Scale 9.707 (3.327) 6–18
Racial Resentment Scale 9.472 (3.888) 4–20
Media/News Controls (# of days)
Watch television 3.793 (2.144) 0–7
Local television news 1.135 (1.668) 0–7
National television news 1.483 (1.854) 0–7
Use internet 6.899 (.524) 1–7
Television crime programs 2.773 (2.340) 0–7
Read news stories involving police misconduct (# of days)
Internet websites 1.711 (1.726) 0–7
Social media websites 2.768 (2.126) 0–7
Engage with stories involving police misconduct
Internet police news engagement 1.404 (.714) 1–4
Facebook police news engagement 1.586 (.862) 1–4
Twitter police news engagement 1.704 (.966) 1–4

values indicate greater racial resentment and summed the four items to create a racial resentment
index (a ¼ .860).
Lastly, we controlled for several demographics including race (1 ¼ Black), ethnicity
(1 ¼ Hispanic), sex (1 ¼ male), age (measure continuously), political status (1 ¼ very liberal to
5 ¼ very conservative), household income (1 ¼ $0$24,999 to 7 ¼ $150,000þ), and criminal just-
ice major (1 ¼ major).1 Descriptive statistics for all variables included in the current study are dis-
played in Table 1.

Analytic strategy
In order to examine whether consuming and engaging with negative police stories on the
Internet and social media impacts attitudes toward police legitimacy, a series of ordinary least
squares regression (OLS) models were ran using STATA (version 14). Prior to the multivariate
analysis, the normality of the dependent variable was examined. A preliminary examination of
the dependent variable revealed that its distribution approached normality as the skew and kur-
tosis were within normal range. Specifically, White’s (1980) test statistic was assessed to evaluate
the null hypothesis that the residuals obtained are homoscedastic. Results of these diagnostic tests
indicate that the disturbance terms produced in each model are homoscedastic. Further, variance
inflation factors (VIF) were examined to assure that collinearity was not an issue in the current
analysis with the highest VIF observed was 2.05.

Results
Table 2 displays the bivariate relationships between each of the variables included in the
current analysis. Five out of six key independent media measures are negatively correlated with
attitudes toward police legitimacy, including reading negative police stories on Internet websites
Table 2. Bivariate correlations for key study variables.
Variables (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24)
(1) Police Legitimacy 1.000
(2) Procedural Justice .601 1.000
(3) Race (1 ¼ Black) .357 .275 1.000
(4) Hispanic (1 ¼ yes) .106 .094 .002 1.000
(5) Sex .278 .182 .116 .060 1.000
(6) Age .004 .072 .080 .052 .113 1.000
(7) Political Status .486 .354 .203 .183 .343 .046 1.000
(8) Household Income .146 .117 .105 .136 .143 .021 .155 1.000
(9) Criminal Justice Major .054 .049 .083 .050 .075 .089 .095 .056 1.000
(10)Victim .067 .120 .019 .002 .055 .027 .016 .013 007 1.000
(11)Personal Negative Police Contact .149 .260 .093 .084 .069 .031 .004 .068 .029 .195 1.000
(12)Family/Friends Negative Police Contact .357 .305 .321 .088 .074 .083 .206 .134 .019 .119 .307 1.000
(13)Neighborhood Problems Scale .100 .139 .093 .075 .143 .011 .060 .176 .075 .074 .085 .135 1.000
(14)Racial Resentment Scale .500 .372 .302 .157 .314 .017 .610 .196 .041 .004 .062 .200 .115 1.000
(15)Watch Television .096 .110 .110 .097 .014 .085 .033 .038 .018 .009 .050 .096 .071 .015 1.000
(16)Local Television News .035 .052 .001 .008 .024 .075 .064 .011 .052 .009 .117 .044 .070 .013 .079 1.000
(17)National Television News .119 .023 .018 .008 .096 .055 .044 .048 .001 .009 .100 .014 .045 .033 .133 .675 1.000
(18)Use Internet .010 .026 .024 .068 .079 .061 .103 .042 .061 .070 .153 .076 .021 .069 .109 .025 .028 1.000
(19)Television Crime Programs .011 .013 .071 .013 .274 .149 .046 .027 .136 .035 .007 .020 .076 .087 .258 .237 .179 .074 1.000
(20)Read Police News Internet Websites .130 .134 .127 .063 .073 .026 .063 .029 .045 .012 .081 .072 .161 .091 .002 .279 .381 .009 .136 1.000
(21)Read Police News Social Media Websites .206 .178 .223 .059 .170 .062 .201 .103 .051 .008 .089 .151 .147 .202 .062 .166 .187 .048 .206 .533 1.000
(22)Internet Police News Engagement .069 .153 .106 .132 .020 .027 .084 .051 .068 .008 .139 .137 .134 .110 .050 .224 .259 .010 .125 .379 .312 1.000
(23)Facebook Police News Engagement .094 .156 .111 .011 .113 .048 .114 .136 .069 .002 .136 .141 .098 .119 .032 .227 .180 .001 .151 .255 .379 .490 1.000
(24)Twitter Police News Engagement .145 .172 .062 .044 .174 .063 .119 .014 .007 .091 .025 .117 .092 .216 .128 .122 .161 .075 .182 .269 .450 .475 .440 1.000
Notes: N ¼ 456.  p < .05.
SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM
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12 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

(r ¼ .130, p < .05), reading negative police stories on social media (r ¼ .206, p < .05), engag-
ing with negative police stories on Facebook (r ¼ .094, p < .05), and engaging with negative
police stories on Twitter (r ¼ .145, p < .05). In addition, all of the key independent media
measures are negatively correlated with perceptions toward procedural justice, which include
reading negative police stories on Internet websites (r ¼ .134, p < .05), reading negative police
stories on social media (r ¼ .178, p < .05), engaging with negative police stories on the
Internet (r ¼ .153, p < .05), engaging with negative police stories on Facebook (r ¼ .156, p <
.05), and engaging with negative police stories on Twitter (r ¼ .172, p < .05). Last, several of
the demographics and controls are significantly correlated with both policing outcomes: race
(black), ethnicity (Hispanic), sex, political status, household income, personal negative police con-
tact, family/friends negative police contact, perceived neighborhood problems, racial resentment,
and watching television (overall).
Tables 3 presents the results of the multivariate analysis for police legitimacy as an outcome.
Model 1 of Table 3 is the baseline model, which includes all demographic and control variables.
The results illustrate that blacks and those who had negative police contact (personally or through
family and friends) are significantly less likely to perceive the police as legitimate. In contrast,
males, those who are more conservative, and those who scored higher on the racial resentment
scale are significantly more likely to perceive the police as legitimate. Regarding the media con-
trols, watching national news on television is positively and significantly related toward
police legitimacy.
In Models 2 through 6, we introduce each of the key online media measures independently
(Internet police stories consumption, social media police stories consumption, Internet police sto-
ries engagement, Facebook police stories engagement, and Twitter police stories engagement).
When looking at the key media variables individually, Model 2 shows that reading negative sto-
ries about the police on the Internet is negatively and significantly related to attitudes toward
police legitimacy. None of the other key online media variables are significant when introduced
individually. Further, the demographic and control measures in Model 1 remain mostly consistent
across Models 2 through 6.
Finally, Model 7 of Table 3 presents the full model of results that includes all measures consid-
ered. As shown in Model 7, when all the variables are included, reading negative stories about
the police on the Internet remains negatively and significantly related to the outcome. While
none of the other key independent media measures reached significance in the full model, all of
the demographics and controls, including national television news consumption, as reported
above in Model 1, remained significant in the full model.2
The same stepwise analysis is carried out for the procedural justice outcome (Table 4). The
baseline results in Table 4 shows that that blacks, older respondents, and those who had adverse
police contact are less likely to perceive the police as procedurally just. In contrast, conservative
respondents and those who scored higher on the racial resentment scale are significantly more
likely to have positive perceptions of procedural justice. None of the media controls are signifi-
cantly related to procedural justice. In Models 2 through 6, each of the key media measures are
introduced. The results show that none of the Internet and social media news consumption and
engagement measures are significantly related to the outcome when considered independently.
Finally, in the full model (Model 7 of Table 4), none of key media measures reached significance,
illustrating that Internet and social media consumption and engagement with negative stories
involving the police is not related to perceptions toward procedural justice.3

Disaggregated analysis
As noted above, media consumption may have different effects among certain subgroups of
respondents based on their personal characteristics and ideologies. To examine this assertion, and
Table 3. OLS regression of police legitimacy on key predictors.
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6 Model 7
Variables b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE)
Race (1 ¼ Black) 1.987 (.550) 1.870 (.549) 1.883 (.552) 1.995 (.551) 1.985 (.552) 1.996 (.551) 1.866 (.554)
Hispanic (1 ¼ yes) .192 (.542) .267 (.539) .194 (.541) .166 (.547) .190 (.543) .199 (.543) .181 (.546)
Sex (1 ¼ male) 1.020 (.387) .990 (.385) .976 (.387) 1.020 (.388) 1.019 (.388) 1.003 (.389) .955 (.388)
Age .169 (.114) .174 (.113) .173 (.113) .171 (.114) .168 (.114) .171 (.114) .189 (.114)
Political Status 1.238 (.234) 1.248 (.233) 1.210 (.234) 1.237 (.235) 1.238 (.235) 1.236 (.235) 1.228 (.234)
Household Income .054 (.096) .055 (.096) .062 (.096) .054 (.096) .055 (.097) .052 (.096) .055 (.097)
Criminal Justice Major (1 ¼ yes) .034 (.346) .029 (.345) .057 (.345) .028 (.347) .036 (.347) .038 (.346) .043 (.348)
Victim (1 ¼ yes) .641 (.441) .692 (.439) .663 (.440) .642 (.441) .643 (.442) .621 (.443) .684 (.444)
Personal Negative Police 1.287 (.627) 1.221 (.624) 1.216 (.627) 1.296 (.629) 1.282 (.630) 1.298 (.628) 1.247 (.631)
Contact (1 ¼ yes)
Family/Friends Negative Police 1.989 (.472) 1.981 (.469) 1.929 (.472) 2.004 (.474) 1.986 (.474) 1.971 (.474) 2.000 (.473)
Contact (1 ¼ yes)
Neighborhood Problems Scale .004 (.052) .012 (.052) .002 (.052) .005 (.052) .004 (.052) .002 (.052) .011 (.052)
Racial Resentment Scale .257 (.057) .251 (.056) .252 (.057) .258 (.057) .256 (.057) .253 (.057) .252 (.057)
Media/News Controls (# of days)
Watch Television .112 (.083) .103 (.083) .120 (.083) .111 (.083) .112 (.083) .116 (.084) .108 (.083)
Local Television News .201 (.139) .193 (.138) .195 (.138) .204 (.139) .200 (.140) .201 (.139) .203 (.139)
National Television News .318 (.125) .403 (.128) .342 (.125) .313 (.126) .319 (.125) .323 (.125) .396 (.129)
Use Internet .115 (.314) .118 (.312) .094 (.314) .116 (.314) .115 (.315) .109 (.315) .106 (.313)
Television Crime Programs .117 (.082) .129 (.082) .132 (.082) .114 (.082) .117 (.082) .119 (.082) .128 (.082)
Read News Stories Involving Police
Misconduct (# of days)
Internet Websites – .271 (.107) – – – – .272 (.125)
Social Media Websites – – .152 (.086) – – – .066 (.105)
Engage with Stories Involving
Police Misconduct
Internet Police News Engagement – – – .097 (.262) – – .368 (.313)
Facebook Police News Engagement – – – – .018 (.207) – .030 (.243)
Twitter Police News Engagement – – – – – .091 (.188) .084 (.226)
Constant 18.863 (3.343) 19.210 (3.326) 19.168 (3.340) 18.821 (3.349) 18.874 (3.350) 19.000 (3.358) 19.291 (3.344)
R-Squared .413 .421 .417 .413 .413 .413 .424
Notes: N ¼ 464 , p < .05, p < .01, p < .001.
SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM
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 14

Table 4. OLS regression of procedural justice on key predictors.

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6 Model 7
Variables b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE) b (SE)
Race (1 ¼ Black) 2.507 (.861) 2.356 (.859) 2.356 (.864) 2.420 (.861) 2.430 (.861) 2.530 (.858) 2.344 (.866)
Hispanic (1 ¼ yes) .294 (.846) .166 (.844) .275 (.845) .100 (.853) .325 (.845) .235 (.844) .108 (.856)
J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

Sex (1 ¼ male) .775 (.610) .733 (.607) .725 (.609) .776 (.609) .729 (.610) .688 (.610) .670 (.610)
Age .473 (.179) .478 (.178) .475 (.179) .449 (.179) .451 (.179) .481 (.179) .470 (.180)
Political Status 1.259 (.372) 1.284 (.371) 1.219 (.372) 1.282 (.372) 1.245 (.372) 1.253 (.371) 1.275 (.373)
Household Income .061 (.151) .061 (.151) .072 (.151) .058 (.151) .084 (.152) .047 (.151) .058 (.153)
Criminal Justice Major (1 ¼ yes) .386 (.548) .302 (.546) .425 (.547) .443 (.548) .436 (.548) .408 (.546) .363 (.551)
Victim (1 ¼ yes) 1.629 (.703) 1.689 (.699) 1.668 (.702) 1.643 (.701) 1.662 (.702) 1.508 (.703) 1.617 (.706)
Personal Negative Police 4.040 (.968) 3.951 (.964) 3.933 (.968) 3.952 (.968) 3.918 (.970) 4.086 (.965) 3.932 (.973)
Contact (1 ¼ yes)
Family/Friends Negative Police 1.453 (.743) 1.450 (.739) 1.362 (.744) 1.347 (.744) 1.369 (.744) 1.314 (.744) 1.305 (.746)
Contact (1 ¼ yes)
Neighborhood Problems Scale .113 (.082) .086 (.082) .101 (.082) .102 (.082) .109 (.082) .104 (.082) .080 (.082)
Racial Resentment Scale .255 (.090) .247 (.090) .248 (.090) .246 (.090) .248 (.090) .233 (.091) .229 (.091)
Media/News Controls (# of days)
Watch Television .214 (.131) .199 (.130) .223 (.131) .217 (.131) .215 (.131) .238 (.131) .219 (.131)
Local Television News .413 (.218) .406 (.217) .406 (.218) .393 (.218) .380 (.219) .406 (.218) .387 (.219)
National Television News .282 (.196) .404 (.202) .316 (.197) .320 (.197) .297 (.196) .309 (.196) .417 (.202)
Use Internet .626 (.569) .682 (.567) .622 (.568) .640 (.568) .632 (.568) .583 (.568) .649 (.568)
Television Crime Programs .064 (.130) .083 (.130) .090 (.131) .081 (.130) .078 (.130) .081 (.130) .101 (.131)
Read News Stories
Involving Police
Misconduct (# of days)
Internet Websites – .399 (.168) – – – – .326 (.195)
Social Media Websites – – .226 (.136) – – – .015 (.165)
Engage with Stories Involving
Police Misconduct
Internet Police News Engagement – – – .681 (.412) – – .179 (.491)
Facebook Police News Engagement – – – – .487 (.328) – .134 (.390)
Twitter Police News Engagement – – – – – .575 (.299) .366 (.355)
Constant 33.689 (5.471) 34.437 (5.451) 34.225 (5.470) 33.931 (5.462) 34.095 (5.471) 34.381 (5.466) 34.955 (5.470)
R-Squared .291 .300 .296 .296 .295 .297 .305
Notes: N ¼ 454 , p < .05, p < .01, p < .001.
 SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM 15

Table 5. Demographic subsamples analysis for read internet news stories involving police miscon-
duct on police legitimacy.
Variables N b (SE)
White 322 .291 (.149)
Nonwhite 134 .066 (.246)
Test for Equality of Coefficients z 1.329
Conservative 103 .541 (.272)
Liberal or Moderate 353 .150 (.149)
Test for Equality of Coefficients z 1.748
Notes: Models include all reported control variables presented in Table 3. p < .05.

based on prior work suggesting that attitudes toward the police vary across racial and political
lines (Doherty et al. 2017; Gerber and Jackson 2017; Morin and Stepler 2016; Weitzer and Tuch
2004), we disaggregate our sample by race4 and political ideology. 5 Consistent to prior research
testing audience characteristics (Chiricos, Padgett, and Gertz 2000; Intravia and Pickett 2019;
Weitzer and Kubrin 2004), we only examine the key media measures that are significantly related
to the outcome(s) in the full model(s) (Model 7 of Tables 3 and 4) in the disaggregated analysis.
As such, our split-sample analysis only focuses on whether the relationships between Internet
news consumption on attitudes toward police legitimacy is conditional by race and polit-
ical ideology.
Table 5 presents the results for the disaggregated analysis on race and political ideology and
police legitimacy for consuming negative police stories on the Internet. The findings illustrate
that among those who identify as conservative, more time spent consuming negative stories about
the police on the Internet is negatively and significantly associated with perceiving the police as
legitimate. Among white, nonwhite, and liberal/moderate respondents, there are no significant
effects. To test the significance of the differences between the groups specified in Table 5, a z-test
for equality of regression coefficients (i.e., slope difference test) was conducted (see Paternoster
et al. 1998). Results of these tests suggest that the effect between consuming negative police sto-
ries on the Internet news and attitudes toward police legitimacy significantly varies between liber-
als/moderates and conservatives (z ¼ 1.748, p < .05). There is no significant difference observed
between whites and nonwhites.

Discussion
A series of negative events between the police and minority citizens has led to nationwide media
attention, government intervention, and public scrutiny regarding law enforcement in the United
States. Because many high-profiled incidents involving the police have been captured on camera,
the dissemination of these events to the public has often resulted in a viral video effect across
various media platforms (Nix and Pickett 2017). Dating back to the Rodney King incident in Los
Angeles, research shows that exposure to negative media coverage of the police results in adverse
attitudes toward these actors (Jefferis et al. 1997; Lasley 1994; Tuch and Weitzer 1997; Weitzer
2002). Yet, today’s media are much different than they were decades ago with the proliferation of
consumers using online media sources to receive news and information (Pew Research Center
2019). Recognizing the widespread use of the Internet and social media among consumers, we
sought to examine whether consumption and engagement with online media involving negative
police incidents influences attitudes toward the police. To our knowledge, the current study pro-
vides the first empirical investigation in this area of media effects and policing research. Further,
it is also the first study to examine whether the relationship between online media consumption
and engagement with negative police stories varies by consumers’ race and political ideology.
Three important findings, along with their implications, are worth highlighting.
16 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

First, we find partial support for the cultivation hypothesis, which states that consumers’ atti-
tudes/beliefs reflect the media that they consume (Gerbner and Gross 1976). Specifically, among
the online media consumption measures, consuming adverse stories about the police on the
Internet was negatively related to police legitimacy whereas social media consumption was not
related. One reason for this divergent finding may be due to how consumers perceive the credibil-
ity of information with media sources. For example, prior efforts show that Internet news con-
sumption is associated with high levels of perceived credibility (Flanagin and Metzger 2000; Tsfati
2010). In contrast, recent statistics show that consumers believe information on social media to
be less credible/trustworthy. For instance, one survey found that 87% and 18% of respondents
reported getting the news from Facebook and Twitter, respectively (Young 2016). However, from
these respondents, only 12% and 18%, respectively, trust the news “a great deal/a lot” from
Facebook and Twitter. Similarly, another study found that 68% of adults get news from social
media yet 57% of social media news consumers expect the news they see to be inaccurate (Matsa
and Shearer 2018). Another potential explanation for the divergent findings may be that individu-
als’ exposure to social media news, because people tend to follow and friend like-minded people
and organizations and social media platforms utilize algorithmically ranked news feeds to person-
alize news for their users, may be more likely to reflect their predetermined views of the police
(Bakshy, Messing, and Adamic 2015).
Second, none of the online engagement measures (Internet and social media) were related to
attitudes toward police legitimacy or procedural justice. It may be that engaging with negative
stories involving the police does not change consumers’ position about the issue/event. Stated dif-
ferently, those who engage with negative police stories online (i.e., commenting, posting, sharing)
may already have strong beliefs/attitudes and such engagement may reinforce one’s personal
stance/ideology about policing, thus having no effect on the consumer. The null findings are con-
sistent to a recent assessment that found 86 percent of American adults exposed to social and
political issues on social media claim it has not caused them to change their beliefs/opinions
(Bialik 2018).
Third, the split-sample analysis illustrates that the relationship between consuming negative
police stories on the Internet and attitudes toward police legitimacy varies by consumers’ political
ideology but not race. First, let us consider the null effects for race. The lack of significant find-
ings observed for race may be due to attitudes toward the police being dependent on other fac-
tors such as prior police contact, social class, and existing beliefs (Chermak et al. 2006; Dowler
2002). Further, the results among nonwhite respondents may be due to a “floor effect,” which
argues that minorities’ attitudes toward the police are so negative at the outset that media con-
sumption does not have an effect (Callanan and Rosenberger 2011).
The findings by political ideology are more surprising. Contrary to both expectations and prior
research on media effects among political groups (Roche et al. 2016; Simmons 2017), conserva-
tives in our sample who consume negative police stories on the Internet are less likely to believe
the police are legitimate. This result is not supportive of the selective exposure framework, which
argues that consumers will choose media content that is consistent to their personal beliefs/ideol-
ogies (Knobloch-Westerwick and Alter 2007; Knobloch-Westerwick and Meng 2009). There seem
to be two possible explanations for the negative effect among conservatives.
First, our study focused on a different outcome than prior work (Simmons, 2017), so it may
be that the interactive effects of media consumption and political ideology vary across outcomes.
Second, it may be that selective exposure, in terms of political beliefs, does not guide consumers’
online media selection in the same manner as it does other types of media such as television pro-
graming and talk radio. Although not a direct comparison to our study, Garrett (2009) found
that there is no evidence that Internet news consumers abandon (or avoid) news stories contain-
ing information that is contrary to one’s beliefs. Second, it may be that conservatives are more
likely than other political groups to initially have value-based rather than information-based
 SOCIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM 17

perceptions of police legitimacy. That is, conservatives may base their perceptions on their
broader social and moral values, leading to initially high perceived legitimacy levels. For example,
considerable research shows a strong connection between political ideology and moral founda-
tions (Graham, Haidt, and Nosek 2009; Haidt 2012; Silver and Silver 2017) and that moral foun-
dations influence attitudes toward the criminal justice system, with group-based moral concerns
elevating system support (Silver 2017; Vaughan, Bell Holleran, and Silver 2019). It thus may be
that among conservatives, perceived police legitimacy initially reflects group-oriented moral con-
cerns, leading to high perceived legitimacy, but then declines upon exposure to the more tangible
information provided in media reports. This may not be the case for other political groups with
different moral inclinations.
The current study is not without limitations. Like most studies examining media effects on
crime and justice-related outcomes, we were limited to cross-sectional data, which makes infer-
ring causality difficult. However, experimental research testing the causal direction of media
effects demonstrates that media consumption shapes consumers’ attitudes (Tal-Or et al. 2010).
Further, studies on media effects and crime-related outcomes suggest against reverse-causation
(O’Keefe and Reid-Nash 1987; Van den Bulck 2004). Second, our sample was limited to mostly
young adults (i.e., undergraduate college students). This nonrandom sample of college students
may not generalize to the public; however, when testing the applicability of media effects theories
to an online setting, the sample is ideal given their heavy use of the Internet and social media.
Further, the majority of our sample consisted of criminal justice majors. Although this sample is
less likely to be involved with the criminal justice system, it is plausible that they have more
interest in crime and policing related topics and therefore may be influenced differently by media
coverage concerning such topics. Yet, given these sample limitations, we recommend that future
research utilize a more diverse sample of adults to assess the effects of online media consumption
and engagement on attitudes toward the police.
Third, our key independent consumption variables did not distinguish between specific
Internet news sites or social media platforms. It would be interesting to determine whether vari-
ous types of Internet news sites (e.g., liberal-leaning, conservative-leaning, nontraditional, news
blogs) have different effects on consumers’ attitudes regarding the police. Further, it would be
beneficial to understand whether additional social media platforms such as Reddit, YouTube,
Snapchat, and other popular social network sites influence consumers’ attitudes in a different
manner. Disaggregating the type of online news sources is a worthy endeavor of future research
given the hyper-partisan era of online media (Faris et al. 2017; Hollander 2008; Stroud 2008)
coupled with the political controversy of police shootings and President Trump’s “law and order”
rhetoric. Yet, cataloging Internet news will be easier said than done for researchers given the
fountaining of types and delivery of online news, each subject to varying degrees of oversight and
control (e.g., Molyneux 2015). Some Internet news sources – particularly those without
“gatekeepers” – will inevitably require consumers to be more skilled in distinguishing fact from
fiction. Future research, then, may also consider measures such as intelligence or “system two”
thinking (Kahneman 2011) as moderating influences of Internet and social media news exposure.
In addition, it would be valuable to differentiate the effects of different types of “engagement” on
social media (i.e., sharing stories, reposting, commenting) with negative or viral-related police sto-
ries. Last, we did not ask respondents whether they read comments posted on Internet and/or
social media news stories. Research suggests that reading others’ comments can influence con-
sumers’ attitudes or position toward social issues based on factors such as the tone, quantity, and
type of argument (strong versus weak) of the comments posted on Internet news stories (Lee
2010, 2015; Lee and Lee 2008; Lee and Jang 2009; Yang 2008).
Despite the limitations, the current study provides empirical support for the cultivation frame-
work with respect to Internet news consumption. Further, this study adds to the limited but
growing body of research untangling the relationships between online media habits and public
18 J. INTRAVIA ET AL.

opinion. However, by all appearances, research on contemporary media effects (e.g., the Internet,
social media) is still at an embryonic stage and continued examination of these flourishing plat-
forms should yield important insight into the influence of media diets in today’s society.

Notes
1. There may be differences in attitudes toward the police between aspiring law enforcement officers and
other criminal justice majors (Sethuraju et al. 2019). Unfortunately, however, we do not have additional
measures of career aspirations.
2. We also replicated the analysis in Table 3 by separating the two domains of police legitimacy (willingness
to obey and normative alignment) as opposed to the single scale presented. One difference the full models
did emerge. Specifically, consuming negative police stories on the Internet was negatively related to
willingness to obey and normative alignment at p < .10 when considered independently. There were no
differences in the other key media independent variables or controls.
3. As suggested by a reviewer, we also ran the models controlling for location (1 ¼ Northeast, 0 ¼ Midwest).
No differences in the full models emerged between our key media variables and policing outcomes.
4. Owing to the small sample of black respondents in the sample (N ¼ 59), we disaggregate race by white
and non-white respondents.
5. Consistent to previous research on media effects (Intravia et al. 2018; Intravia 2019; Intravia and Pickett
2019; Roche et al. 2016), political ideology was dichotomized (1 ¼ conservative and 0 ¼ liberal/moderate)
in the disaggregated analysis.

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