Linking Social Media News Use, AI Interest, and Political Ideology With AI Subjective Knowledge: A Moderated Mediation Model Across Two Countries

Abstract

Social media has emerged as a pivotal platform for accessing news content today. While there appears to be a connection between news consumption on social media platforms and perceived knowledge of public affairs, little is known about the potential effect on specific issues like artificial intelligence (AI). To extend findings on people’s perceived knowledge of AI, how it relates to social media news consumption, and what other factors can contribute, we offer results based on original survey data from two societies (Germany, N = 2213, and Spain, N = 2337). This study advances a moderated mediation model by which social media news positively predicts heightened AI interest, which in turn is associated with increased AI subjective knowledge. This effect is significant for both conservatives and liberals, albeit stronger for conservatives.