Behind Every Good Lie Is a Grain of Truth

Abstract

Drawing on the experiences of the 2020 Taiwanese and Moldovan presidential elections, this article develops a framework to better understand whether certain aspects of identity can predict a constituency’s demand for foreign disinformation during contentious election cycles. The model bridges key tenets of Monroe E. Price’s “market for loyalties” metaphor with geographic information system applications to identify areas where a constituency’s willingness to exchange loyalty for disinformation is expected to be salient within these postimperial polities. The article concludes by outlining the theoretical implications for focused policy interventions in Taiwan and Moldova.