Study: Republicans Respond to Political Polarization by Spreading Misinformation, Democrats Don't
www.ama.org
This Journal of Marketing study finds Republicans react to political polarization by sharing misinformation. The study calls for stronger fact-checking, media literacy education, and less polarizing rhetoric from political figures and media outlets.

Summary

A new Journal of Marketing study finds that political polarization drives Republicans to spread misinformation to gain partisan advantage, while Democrats do not exhibit this behavior.

Republicans value winning highly and are more likely to share misinformation, even when its truth is questionable.

Six studies, including analyses of fact-checked statements, surveys, and presidential speeches, support these findings.

The spread of misinformation undermines democratic processes, such as increased restrictive voting laws after the 2020 election.

Researchers suggest reducing polarization, investing in fact-checking, and expanding media literacy education to combat misinformation’s impact.

  • mydude@lemmy.world
    116·
    2 days ago

    I don’t even like republicans (nor do I like democrats) but articles like this are just so blatantly biased, I don’t understand that people believe it. Do you really believe that D or R determines how good someone is to spot misinformation and also determines how likely it is for that person to share it… Come on. People are too similar, we have more in common than we like to admit. I’m just at likely to be suckered by marketing, as are you, as is a republican.

    • _stranger_@lemmy.world
      14·
      2 days ago

      You have the correlation backwards. Being a Republican doesn’t make you bad at critical thinking, but being bad at critical thinking really makes you susceptible to Republican propaganda.

      • mydude@lemmy.world
        12·
        2 days ago

        My point, completely glossed over, is that this open article was written by two doctorates in marketing, which is sketchy and should trigger your spidey sense… Or you could slightly shrug, continue your day and don’t challenge your preconceived notions.

        • _stranger_@lemmy.world
          41·
          2 days ago

          It makes a kind of sense. Marketing is basically Applied Psychology. Who better to study the grifters and the mechanisms by which they grift?

    • niucllos@lemm.ee
      12·
      2 days ago

      Yes, I 100% do. If R or D was arbitrarily assigned to everyone at birth, then no it wouldn’t make sense, but this isn’t a double-blind control study. Roughly 2/3 of those who never attended college–which for many reasons (reading comprehension, exposure to new ideas, exposure to media literacy training) probably correlates pretty strongly with ability to spot misinformation–voted R in the last election. 2/3 of those with advanced degrees–the other end of that spectrum–voted D.