Filling the Void : Information Seeking and Processing in the Context of Violent Conflicts

This article explores the ways in which violent intergroup conflict affects how people ac-quire, use, and perceive information. Based on previous studies and empirical findings from field research in four fragile countries (Libya, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq), in-cluding qualitative focus group discussions and standardized quantitative surveys, we show that the polarization and instrumentalization of media in these countries produce media skepticism, leading to increased fact-checking and cross-media use among the general public. Uncertainty leads to dis-cussions in the community about what the media presents, indicating that media users try to estab-lish agency through advanced information processing and validation strategies. We posit that this type of media environment facilitates critical media literacy among media-savvy individuals. More-over, the present study develops a research agenda for analyzing communication and information processing in conflict contexts.