Guilt by association: How chumbox advertising affects news readers’ perceptions

Paper presented at the 102nd Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Top Scholar-to-Scholar Presentation Award)

Abstract: As content referral widgets and other forms of native advertising continue to be lucrative means of subsidizing journalism, critics and industry observers have derided these “chumboxes” as damaging to the user experience and the journalism they’re adjacent to. This study theorizes mechanisms behind this proposition and tests it in two controlled experiments. Results suggest that effects of chumbox ads on perceptions of message and source credibility depend on article context, such that the presence of chumboxes damages message and source credibility in circumstances where readers are more motivated to read the article.

Bartosz Wojdynski 

Related Research


Unique… like everyone else: effects and mechanisms of personalization appeals in recruitment advertising

Pfiffelmann, J., Alexander Pfeuffer, Dens, N., Soulez, S. (2023). Unique… like everyone else: effects and mechanisms of personalization appeals in recruitment advertising. International Journal of Advertising. Abstract: Recruiters are faced with the […]

Alexander Pfeuffer
read more
Linking Blockchain Technology and Digital Advertising: How Blockchain Technology Can Enhance Digital Advertising to Be More Effective, Efficient, and Trustworthy

Jooyoung Kim, Kyu Hyung Lee, Jaemin Kim (Ph.D. student) (2023), “Linking Blockchain Technology and Digital Advertising: How Blockchain Technology Can Enhance Digital Advertising to Be More Effective, Efficient, and Trustworthy,” […]

Jooyoung Kim
read more