A significant amount of media attention and scholarship has focused on mis- and disinformation in news, centering both the platforms that allow news organizations to share misinformation as well as the news organizations that have published misinformation — whether about public health, the elections, or disaster relief. The attention on this kind of deception is warranted, having impacts on the distribution of public resources, safety, and democratic outcomes.

Although studying how we might fix deceptive news content is a major concern, equally important is addressing manipulative designs aimed at audiences. In the mid-2010s, a design issue that received major attention was that of native advertising — pieces of content designed to look like news articles but which are made to be persuasive vehicles for other organizations. News audiences respond negatively to these designs.

A similar phenomenon is happening with dark patterns. Dark patterns, also called deceptive designs, are those user interfaces and experiences made to extract something of value that the organization otherwise would not get. Researchers have found dark patterns on shopping sites, games, and other web-based and mobile sites. The popularity of a site increased the potential for it to have dark patterns. One 2020 investigation found that of 240 popular mobile apps, 95 percent contained at least one dark pattern.

News sites aren’t exempt from containing dark patterns. These designs are used in consent notices, political communications, and advertisements.

That dark patterns allow the sites to get something of value that it otherwise would not points to the continuing battle that news organizations have with creating and sustaining audience trust and their economic interests. Disagreement exists over whether the paying audience for news has really shrunken, or whether audiences are more discerning about the kinds and organizations to which they will subscribe.

But news organizations can obtain value from audiences outside of subscriptions. Dark patterns allow for the collection of time, attention, and data, all of which can be monetized for value through ads and ad networks. And news organizations also employ data collection and processing technologies like cookies on their sites and apps.

To be sure, not all of the dark patterns that news organizations employ involve digital technology. Audience members have reported having difficulty unsubscribing from certain news organizations, having to call customer service instead of being able to cancel their subscription online where they signed up.

The regulatory environment for dark patterns is changing and will affect news as well as other organizations that deploy them. In October, the Federal Trade Commission announced its final “Click to Cancel” rule that requires companies to make it as easy for customers to end their subscriptions as it was to enroll. The recently enacted European Artificial Intelligence Act prohibits “the placing on the market, the putting into service or the use of an AI system that deploys subliminal techniques beyond a person’s consciousness or purposefully manipulative or deceptive techniques.” These and other regulations have the potential to change the landscape of deceptive designs.

Perhaps more powerful for forcing design changes will be the continued negative reactions from news audiences. Audiences do recognize deceptive designs, and deception or perceived deception affects audience trust. Major controversies during 2024 elections demonstrate that when audiences lose trust in news organizations, they will leave.

Therefore, news organizations will have to reckon with their use of designs that place them in the same categories as annoying sales sites and scammers. If the idea is to maintain their audience and that audience’s trust, news organizations must change their relationship with the audience through interactions on their sites and apps.