Incidental encounters, intentional engagements: Dissecting political news consumption on short-form video platforms

Incidental news exposure occurs as individuals encounter news content while engaging in non-news-related activities on social platforms. Applying the Political Incidental News Exposure (PINE) model, this study uses a survey of US voters ( N = 781) and reveals that obligation to stay informed and intrinsic need for orientation are associated with people’s levels of engagement to news encounter by accident on short-form video platforms. The levels of engagement are associated with people’s political engagement and information seeking.