A new study published in the International Journal of Press/Politics indicates that if journalists cite public records as sources in their news stories then readers will view the stories as more credible and informative than citing other sources, including social media and academic experts.

The online experiment with 1,210 U.S. residents found that when information in news stories is attributed to public records obtained through freedom of information requests, readers found the stories more credible and informative than the same stories citing social media, academic experts, or no sources. Stories citing social media as sources were perceived the least credible – equivalent to not citing any sources at all.

The study was conducted by Jessica Sparks, assistant professor at Auburn University and former research aide at the Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment, in collaboration with Marquette University associate professor A.Jay Wagner. “It confirmed our expectations that audiences see value and credibility in information obtained through open records requests,” Sparks told us in an email. “It also showed that quoting social media diminishes audience perceptions of credibility in journalists’ work, which pushes back on some recent practices in the industry.”

The stories used in the experiments were relatively routine and apolitical, about bridge safety, food recalls and water quality. Sparks said they will follow-up by testing source credibility in stories about political topics, to examine differences along partisan lines.

Posted: December 19, 2025
Category: Brechner News
Tagged as: Brechner FOI Project, Government Transparency, public records