Sakshi Bhalla

R. Ray, S. Bhalla, & H. Taneja. (2025). Partisan news users in the United States and India on either side seldom use fact checkers. Journal of Communication.

Abstract: Fact checkers have low reach, and their limited efficacy is often attributed to perceived partisanship. Yet little research exists investigating the reach of or engagement with fact checkers among their intended audiences. We argue that given their small audience size, fact checkers’ usage is likely driven by heavy media users regardless of their partisan leanings. We examined a slice of Twitter (X) users, following certain partisan and fact checking outlets from India and the United States. Our analysis of over 7 million news users suggests that exposure to and engagement with fact checkers remains largely restricted to heavier users, with little evidence that these interventions penetrate among selectively partisan news audiences. This study is thus among the first to highlight complementary explanations for the limited efficacy of fact checkers beyond the partisan inclinations of either audiences or news outlets.

Bhalla, S., R. Ray & H. Taneja. (2024). When news is entertainment: Explaining the persistence of misinformation through the information environment. Information, Communication & Society.

Abstract: Why does misinformation persist despite its corrections? To address this issue, we propose the "news as entertainment" framework, explaining how commercial considerations of the media industry shape news consumption. Using a strategic case study, we examine India's information environment through this paradigm. Guided by industry metrics, we reveal the interplay of competing social and economic interests in a context marked by high choice and political polarization. Within this framework, we examine misinformation correction in practice, highlighting its contextual underpinnings and the potent role of mainstream media. Finally, we discursively analyze how audience responses underscore their ties to specific news environments. The "news as entertainment" framework exposes the disjunction between contextually shaped misinformation and correction methods, emphasizing how media contexts influence audience receptivity to facts or falsehoods. This insight informs our understanding of misinformation mechanisms, correction, and persistence with implications for addressing these challenges.

Khan, A., S. Natarajan, S. Bhalla. (2021). Climate Strikes in Millennial India: Social Capital and “On-Ground” Networks in Digital-First Movements. Communication, Culture & Critique.

Abstract: In September 2019, young people in India led a series of protest events, taking inspiration from a digital campaign for a series of Climate Strikes. Our article explores these events in the context of “millennial India,” particularly in terms of the networks that emerged in the course of climate action in two different regions. By using evidence from Delhi in the north and Bengaluru in the south, we also develop a comparative sociology of digital-first environmental movements and show how the significance of Twitter can only be understood in relation to the formations of social capital on the ground.

Bhalla, S., M. Nelson & M. Spikes. (forthcoming). Classroom Contexts: Teachers Talk Teaching Media Literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education.

Abstract: In this study, we examine the lived experiences of educators who engage with youth through media literacy education. While prior research has examined the efficacy of media literacy education interventions, little attention has been paid to the contexts in which these are conducted. Our analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews reveals how the structural context illuminates several "divides," shaping how media literacy is taught and experienced. Three major themes emerged from the data: (1) teachers and high school students inhabit distinct media worlds, shaping their media understanding differently; (2) the socio-economic status of the school determines whether media literacy is taught functionally or analytically; (3) media choices and political context significantly influence media literacy education. Our analysis reveals that these divides lead to different understandings of media and media literacy between students and teachers, undermining the efficacy of media literacy efforts. Thus, we highlight the need for bottom-up approaches to address educational resource limitations to ensure more cohesive media literacy education outcomes.

News Diets in High-Choice Environments
(In preparation)

See the poster here

News(paper) Flows: A spatial examination of local newspaper circulation
(In preparation)

An earlier version of this study was presented at the Local News Researchers Workshop, March 2024, in Durham, North Carolina.