Public Sphere and Misinformation in the U.S. Election: Trump’s Audience and Populism Indicators in the COVID-19 Context

(1) In a context of an unprecedented global pandemic, an analysis of the effects of political disinformation on audiences is needed. The U.S. election process culminating in the official proclamation of Joe Biden as president has led to an increase in the public’s distrust of politics and its leader...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournalism and Media Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 335 - 350
Main Authors Pérez-Curiel, Concha, Domínguez-García, Ricardo, Jiménez-Marín, Gloria
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2021
Subjects
Adults
audience
Audiences
Candidates
Change agents
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
disinformation
Elections
Legislatures
Measurement
media
Misinformation
Pandemics
Policy making
Political attitudes
polls
Polls & surveys
Populism
Presidential elections
Presidents
Public opinion surveys
Public sphere
Research methodology
Social networks
Speeches
Trump, Donald J
Trust
Voters
United States > US
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Summary:(1) In a context of an unprecedented global pandemic, an analysis of the effects of political disinformation on audiences is needed. The U.S. election process culminating in the official proclamation of Joe Biden as president has led to an increase in the public’s distrust of politics and its leaders, as public opinion polls show. In this context, the change in the electorate’s attitude towards Donald Trump, throughout the legislature and especially after the elections, stands out. So, the objective of this research was to determine, through the measurement of surveys, the views of the electorate on the behavior of the Republican candidate and the possible causes that determine the loss of confidence in his speeches and comments. (2) The methodology, a comparative quantitative-qualitative approach, analyzed the responses collected by Pew Research waves 78 and 80 (2020 and 2021). Specifically, the surveys analyzed were 11,818 U.S. adults in the case of the American Trends Panel 2020 and 5360 in the case of the same panel for 2021. (3) Results showed the change of position of the electorate, especially Republicans, in the face of the policy of delegitimization of the process and Trump’s populist messages on Twitter. (4) Conclusions pointed in two directions: society has decided not to trust Trump, while at the same time showing distrust about the correct management of the electoral ballot.
ISSN:2673-5172
2673-5172
DOI:10.3390/journalmedia2030020