Abstract
We analyze original survey data on support for social media companies’ fact-checking of politicians in general and President Trump in particular. We find overwhelming majorities of Democrats sup-port fact-checking in both instances, while a majority of Republicans support fact-checking of politicians in general but not of President Trump. Moreover, we find those concerned about contracting COVID-19 are more likely to support fact-checks. Rather than viewing fact-checks as a cure-all, we argue the importance of acknowledging their limitations and identifying when and on whom ef-forts may be effective.
Highlights
We conducted an experimental web survey via mTurk, an Amazon crowdsourcing platform, to identify support for fact-checking politicians and President Trump separately
This study investigates fact-checks conducted internally by social media platforms and support for these efforts based on partisanship, the target of fact-check efforts, and concern for contracting COVID-19
Finding 1: Democrats are more supportive of fact-checks overall, while support among Republicans drops when the focus is on Donald Trump
Summary
Research note: Does the public support fact-checking social media? It depends who and how you ask. We analyze original survey data on support for social media companies’ fact-checking of politicians in general and President Trump in particular. We find overwhelming majorities of Democrats support factchecking in both instances, while a majority of Republicans support fact-checking of politicians in general but not of President Trump. We find those concerned about contracting COVID-19 are more likely to support fact-checks. Rather than viewing fact-checks as a cure-all, we argue the importance of acknowledging their limitations and identifying when and on whom efforts may be effective. Research note: Does the public support fact-checking social media?
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