Republicans or those with conservative leanings tend to use and spread more misinformation than those with liberal leanings or Democrats. This is the conclusion from a six-part study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Irvine that was published in 2024 in the Journal of Marketing and reiterated by the American Marketing Association in a press release. The study also investigated and underscored the reason behind this behavior.
Republicans and Misinformation: Role of Political Polarization in Triggering Conservatives to Spread Misinformation
Background
Xiajing Zhu and Cornelia Pechmann explored how misinformation spread by framing their inquiry within its relationship with political polarization. Their hypothesis centered on the notion that conservatives are more likely to spread misinformation in situations that are politically polarized or topics or contexts that emphasize conflict between conservatives and liberals.
The researchers conducted six studies to test their hypothesis. The first examined fact-checked statements in the news media and on social media by public figures for over 10 years or from 2007 to 2016. The second extended this analysis to 16 years or from 2007 to 2022. They also conducted three online studies participated by Republican or Democrat Americans.
Note that the three online studies involved placing the participants in various politically polarized situations. Examples include headlines that disfavored either a Republican or Democrat politician. The last of the six studies involved examining the speeches of U.S. presidents from 1929 to 2023 or from the 31st U.S. President Herbert Hoover to 46th U.S. President Joe Biden.
Results
Findings from the first and second studies indicate that Republicans conveyed significantly more misinformation than Democrats when there was political polarization in the news cycle. The three online studies further revealed that the surveyed Republicans were significantly more willing to disseminate misinformation than the surveyed Democrats to gain an advantage.
The last or sixth study showed that Republican presidents often used inclusive first-person point of view and first-person pronouns like “we” and “us” than Democratic presidents in situations that are politically polarized like during election periods. This indicated that these presidents were focusing more on partisanship and inclusion and belongingness to their own party.
Additional findings also explained that conservatives are not inherently predisposed to spread misinformation. Their behavior is influenced by polarized situations that elevate their desire for ingroup dominance or maintain the superiority of their group. Moreover, in situations that are less polarized, it appears that the tendency to use and spread misinformation diminishes.
Implications
The researchers underscored that misinformation is not solely an issue of individual traits like being conservative but is exacerbated by external factors like polarization. Several actors that often benefit from polarization or polarized situations inadvertently encourage misinformation. Notable examples include media organizations, political figures, and social media platforms.
Nevertheless, to solve the problem of misinformation, the study recommends the need to channel more resources into media literacy and fact-checking. These tasks are currently performed by volunteers with a meager budget. In addition, based on the aforesaid results, during periods of heightened polarization, volunteers could strategically allocate more resources.
The United States Federal Reserve Bank also maintains the Polarization Index to keep track of the relationship between political polarization and economic performance. The researchers suggested that this can be a good source of data for fact-checkers to better understand and predict specific periods when the dissemination of misinformation has a higher chance to spike.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Zhu, X. and Pechmann, C. 2024. “Political Polarization Triggers Conservatives’ Misinformation Spread to Attain Ingroup Dominance.” Journal of Marketing. 89(1): 39-55 SAGE Publications. DOI: 1177/00222429241264997