This study investigates how summary fact-checking data influences perceptions of politician accuracy and favorability. Unlike individual statement assessments, it provides a comprehensive view across multiple claims over time.
We tested this through three survey experiments comparing both formats against prominent elected officials. Our findings indicate that exposure to aggregated negative ratings significantly impacts public perception more than seeing isolated critiques.
Interestingly, partisan bias did not consistently hinder the effectiveness of summary fact-checking as previously expected under motivated reasoning models. This suggests a novel accountability mechanism independent of traditional partisanship effects.
Key Implications
We recommend incorporating comprehensive fact-check summaries into media reporting for enhanced political accountability. The consistent negative perception shift observed across experiments demonstrates tangible impact on public opinion.
| Counting the Pinocchios: The Effect of Summary Fact-Checking Data on Perceived Accuracy and Favorability of Politicians was authored by Alexander Agadjanian, Nikita Bakhru, Victoria Chi, Devyn Greenberg, Byrne Hollander, Alexander Hurt, Joseph Kind, Ray Lu, Annie Ma and Brendan Nyhan. It was published by Sage in R&P in 2019. |
