False Alarm: The Truth about Political Mistruths in the Trump Era (Elements in American Politics)

Porter, Ethan; Wood, Thomas J.

ISBN 10: 1108705928 / ISBN 13: 9781108705929

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019

About this Item

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00042300436

Bibliographic Details

Title: False Alarm: The Truth about Political ...

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Publication Date: 2019

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis:

Americans are not invulnerable to factual information. They do not 'backfire'; facts do not make them less accurate. Instead, they become more accurate, even when corrections target co-partisans. Corrections of fake news yield similar results. Among Republicans, Trump's misstatements are less susceptible to corrections than identical misstatements attributed to other Republicans. While we do not observe facts affecting attitudes, multiple instances of misinformation can increase approval of the responsible politician - but corrections can reduce approval by similar amounts. While corrections do not eliminate false beliefs, they reduce the share of inaccurate beliefs among subjects in this study nearly in half.

Book Description:

Does Trump's election mean Americans reflexively resist factual information? Evidence strongly suggests not. Americans across the political spectrum are responsive to factual information, even when facts undercut claims made by their party's politicians. However, being more factually accurate does not generally change people's political beliefs.