Political Factors

sophisticated

correction effectiveness

Two main political
factors contribute to the nature and severity of
misinformation effects: political sophistication and ideology. One of the most
frequently studied moderators of
is political
sophistication, which includes aspects of political knowledge, engagement,
and education (for a review, see Flynn et al. 2017). At ﬁrst glance, more
politically
to
misinformation than less-informed citizens, as they can draw on their superior
knowledge to discern fact from ﬁction. Along these lines, Berinsky (2012) ﬁnds
that more politically engaged individuals are, on the whole, more likely than
others to reject political rumors. However, he also ﬁnds that politically
sophisticated Republicans are more likely to accept rumors about Democrats,
suggesting that political knowledge does not entirely inoculate individuals
against misinformation.

individuals

susceptible

should

less

be
Social_Media_and_Democracy