Immersive Journalism and Telepresence

Although news in virtual reality (VR) is currently on the rise, relatively little empirical evidence on its effects has been reported. This study tests if telepresence in VR news consumption can affect news credibility. In a posttest-only experiment (N = 80), 40 subjects watched VR news: 20 with a headset (Google Cardboard) and 20 in 360 degrees without a headset. A group of 20 subjects watched 2D video news. Twenty subjects only answered a questionnaire without VR exposure. The comparison of four groups revealed that VR news groups showed significantly higher telepresence than did the group with no exposure. Both the VR with a headset and 360-degree groups also marked higher in news credibility than did the group with no exposure. There were only a few significant differences between the 360-degree group and the 2D video group in telepresence and credibility. In an interaction effect test, VR news groups with high telepresence evaluated news credibility better than the group with no exposure. There were no differences among the headset, 360-degree, and 2D news groups with high telepresence in credibility. Study implications, limitations, and suggestions are discussed.