Abstract
Pervasive political misinformation threatens the integrity of American electoral democracy but not in the manner most commonly examined. We argue the presumed influence of misinformation (PIM) may be just as pernicious, and widespread, as any direct influence that political misinformation may have on voters. Our online survey of 2,474 respondents in the United States shows that greater attention to political news heightens PIM on others as opposed to oneself, especially among Demo-crats and Independents. In turn, PIM on others reduces satisfaction with American electoral democ-racy, eroding the “virtuous circle” between news and democracy, and possibly commitment to de-mocracy in the long-term.
Highlights
How is attention to political news and information associated with the presumed influence of misinformation on other voters?
Though our findings show that attention to political news and information increases satisfaction with electoral democracy, consistent with the virtuous circle, at the same time attention to political news indirectly reduces satisfaction with electoral democracy by heightening the presumed influence of misinformation on others among Democrats and Independents
Finding 1: For Democrats and Independents, the more attention they pay to news and information about the 2020 election and politics, the higher they rate the influence of misinformation on other voters
Summary
How is attention to political news and information associated with the presumed influence of misinformation on other voters?. Respondents reported how much attention they paid to the 2020 election and politics in general, their political self-identification, presumed influence of misinformation (PIM) on themselves and others, and their satisfaction with American electoral democracy.
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