How Politics Shape Views Toward Fact-Checking: Evidence from Six European Countries

Abstract

<jats:p> Fact-checking has spread internationally, in part to confront the rise of digital disinformation campaigns. American studies suggests ideological asymmetry in attitudes toward fact-checking, as well as greater acceptance of the practice among those more interested in and knowledgeable about politics. We examine attitudes toward fact-checking across six European counties to put these findings in a broader context ( N = 6,067). We find greater familiarity with and acceptance of fact-checking in Northern Europe (Sweden and Germany) than elsewhere (Italy, Spain, France, and Poland). We further find two dimensions of political antipathy: a left–right dimension and an “anti-elite” dimension (including dissatisfaction with democracy and negative feelings toward the European Union), the latter of which more consistently predicts negative feelings toward fact-checkers in the countries examined. Our findings demonstrate that despite general acceptance of the movement, significant political divides remain. Those less likely to trust fact-checkers could be more vulnerable to disinformation targeting these divides, leading to a spiral of cynicism. </jats:p>

Tackling misinformation: What researchers could do with social media data

“…Current scholarship offers mixed findings and scant data on the effectiveness of oft-proposed solutions to mis/disinformation like fact-checking (e.g., Ecker et al, 2020;Lyons et al, 2020). With increased access and user consent, researchers could observe things such as organic fact-checking-how people react when a friend or group member points out incorrect information they have shared-and track whether corrections are equally effective across demographics, issues, and sources.…”

Digital Threats to Democracy: Comparative Lessons and Possible Remedies

“…Overall, this study suggests that fact-checking alone is unlikely to mitigate the problem of disinformation—not because of any shortcomings in the work of fact-checkers themselves, but because of their uneven reach and support among different groups of the population. It is what citizens think about—and do with—fact-checking that shapes the conditions for its success or, as Lyons et al’s (2020) study suggests, lack thereof. If this is true, solutions to the threat of misinformation and disinformation are likely to require more systemic approaches, especially ones that tackle the deeper roots of the problem.…”

“…However, to the extent that trust in expertise and professional news becomes a divisive political issue (Waisbord 2018), citizens of different political persuasions may not be equally convinced of the value of fact-checking. Lyons and colleagues (2020) address this topic based on surveys in six European democracies. They show that most respondents are not familiar with the fact-checking movement in journalism but are generally favorable toward it.…”

Untitled

“…No es menos cierto que los procesos de verificación informativa generan cierta resistencia entre los equipos de campaña, de ahí que quienes confían menos en los verificadores, son más vulnerables a sufrir la influencia de la desinformación (Lyons et al, 2020). A esto se suma la necesidad del acceso a datos abiertos que permitan a los periodistas comparar afirmaciones, cifras e información de diverso tipo, con fuentes confiables de datos, incluso hoy países como Estados Unidos, Reino Unido y otros, trabajan en los procesos de verificación con el uso de sistemas de inteligencia artificial que agilita esa búsqueda y contraste de datos.…”

“…El español es hablado por 400 millones de ciudadanos repartidos en 21 países (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, España, Guatemala, Guinea Ecuatorial, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana, Uruguay y Venezuela). Es hablado también en Andorra, Estados Unidos, Filipinas y en Sahara Occidental, aunque no son los idiomas oficiales en esos países (Lyons, 2020).…”