Measuring exposure to misinformation from political elites on Twitter

Article Psychology, Multidisciplinary

Field Experiments on Social Media

Mohsen Mosleh et al.

Summary: The article reviews recent innovations in experimental approaches to studying online behavior, with a particular focus on research related to misinformation and political psychology.

CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE (2022)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Social media sharing of low-quality news sources by political elites

Jana Lasser et al.

Summary: Increased sharing of untrustworthy information on social media platforms is a major challenge in our modern information society. Examining the quality of information shared by politicians is particularly important as it can shape citizen and media discourse. Research shows that Republicans in the US Congress have been sharing links to untrustworthy sources at an increasing rate since 2016. This divergence between Republicans and Democrats has worsened after President Biden's election and seems to be unique to the United States, unlike other western democracies where left-right disparities are smaller and relatively constant.

PNAS NEXUS (2022)

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Article Political Science

Party over Pocketbook? How Party Cues Influence Opinion When Citizens Have a Stake in Policy

Rune Slothuus et al.

Summary: The study found that political party cues can influence citizen's opinions even when there is personal stake in policy, but it does not lead them to go against their self-interest. Instead, party cues moderate extreme policy demands among public employees by tempering the pursuit of self-interest. These findings highlight the potential for political parties to moderate, rather than fuel, extreme opinions.

AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Cognitive reflection correlates with behavior on Twitter

Mohsen Mosleh et al.

Summary: The study found that individuals with higher levels of cognitive reflection tend to use social media more discerningly, follow more judgmental types and numbers of accounts, and share more reliable news sources. On the other hand, those with lower levels of cognitive reflection are more likely to engage with like-minded individuals, creating echo chambers.

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Shifting attention to accuracy can reduce misinformation online

Gordon Pennycook et al.

Summary: In recent years, there has been growing concern over the spread of false information on social media. Research has shown that while most people value sharing accurate news, the veracity of headlines does not necessarily impact their intentions to share. By shifting attention to accuracy, the quality of news that people share can be improved, challenging the belief that people prioritize partisanship over accuracy.

NATURE (2021)

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Review Behavioral Sciences

The Psychology of Fake News

Gordon Pennycook et al.

Summary: Research shows that people are better at discerning truth from falsehood when evaluating politically related news, poor truth discernment is mainly associated with lack of critical thinking and relevant knowledge. There is a notable disconnect between what people believe and what they share on social media, which can be addressed by nudging users to focus more on accuracy and leveraging crowdsourced veracity ratings to improve social media algorithms.

TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Elite party cues increase vaccination intentions among Republicans

Sophia L. Pink et al.

Summary: Research suggests that endorsements from Republican elites have a positive impact on increasing COVID-19 vaccination intentions among Republicans, while endorsements from Democratic elites can lead to negative backlash effects; Republicans are more likely to heed advice from Republican elites on vaccination.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

How social learning amplifies moral outrage expression in online social networks

William J. Brady et al.

Summary: Moral outrage is widespread on online social networks, and social learning processes amplify these expressions over time. Positive social feedback increases the likelihood of future outrage expressions, while users also conform their expressions to the norms of their social networks. Norm learning overshadows reinforcement learning when normative information is readily observable, especially in ideologically extreme networks.

SCIENCE ADVANCES (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Conservatives' susceptibility to political misperceptions

R. Kelly Garrett et al.

Summary: The idea that U.S. conservatives are more likely to hold misperceptions has not been systematically assessed. Research shows that conservatives have lower sensitivity in distinguishing truths and falsehoods, partially due to the prevalence of right-leaning misinformation. Liberals show greater improvement in sensitivity with an increase in partisan news content.

SCIENCE ADVANCES (2021)

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Article Political Science

Partisan Polarization Is the Primary Psychological Motivation behind Political Fake News Sharing on Twitter

Mathias Osmundsen et al.

Summary: The sharing of fake news is motivated by political polarization rather than ignorance or laziness. Those who hate their political opponents are more likely to share fake news in order to attack and derogate them. This study indicates that psychological motivations play a significant role in the spread of fake news on social media.

AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW (2021)

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Article Political Science

(Almost) Everything in Moderation: New Evidence on Americans' Online Media Diets

Andrew M. Guess

Summary: Most people have moderate online media diets, with a small group leaning towards ideologically slanted websites. There is a significant overlap in media diets between Democrats and Republicans, but some individuals still drive a disproportionate amount of traffic to specific biased websites.

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE (2021)

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Article Political Science

How Political Parties Shape Public Opinion in the Real World

Rune Slothuus et al.

Summary: When political parties change their policy positions, citizens' policy opinions change immediately and significantly, even when the new position goes against their previously held views. These findings advance the current literature on partisan elite influence.

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE (2021)

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Article Psychology, Biological