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