Chapter 10 - Fact or Fiction

Summary

Disinformation in politics has exploded in recent years. With the rise of social media, the availability of disinformation is compounded and is easier than ever to disseminate. Research shows false political news spreads more rapidly than factually correct information, often through negative campaigns. Among efforts to fight this scourge, media organisations have turned to fact-checks to correct the record. In this chapter, we examine if voters pay attention to fact-checks in negative campaigns and to what degree fact-checks can hold candidates to account. We show that citizens find political attacks on opponents salient for voting decisions, but voters are also likely to seek fact-checks on negativity when available. Showing motivated biases, attacks by preferred candidates on less-liked opponents are sought more than the other way around, while fact-checks about a political opponent’s attacks are examined more often. Importantly, when fact-checks indicate a candidate is lying, voters are more likely to avoid that candidate, suggesting fact-checking may be able to play a role in reducing voters’ acceptance of candidates who spread disinformation.