Brendan Nyhan: The persistence of political misperceptions

[Richard Moore]

When Corrections Fail:

The persistence of political misperceptions

Brendan Nyhan

Duke University

bj...@duke.edu

Jason Reifler

Georgia State University

pol...@langate.gsu.edu

April 22, 2009

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bnyhan/nyhan-reifler.pdf

Abstract

An extensive literature addresses citizen ignorance, but very little research focuses on misperceptions. Can these false or unsubstantiated beliefs about politics be corrected? Previous studies have not tested the efficacy of corrections in a realistic format. We conducted four experiments in which subjects read mock news articles that included either a misleading claim from a politician, or a misleading claim and a correction. Results indicate that corrections frequently fail to reduce misperceptions among the targeted ideological group. We also document several instances of a "backfire" effect in which corrections actually increase misperceptions among the group in question.

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