Do Facts Matter? Information and Misinformation in American Politics

Was Barack Hussein Obama born outside the United States, so that his presidency and all laws passed under it are unconstitutional? Are two out of every five Americans black? Did the crime rate rise during the first 15 years of the twenty-first century? These are questions of factual information, to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPolitical science quarterly Vol. 130; no. 4; pp. 585 - 624
Main Authors Hochschild, Jennifer L., Einstein, Katherine Levine
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2015
Academy of Political Science
Oxford University Press
Subjects
Democracy
False information
Information
Obama, Barack
Political science
Presidents
Public opinion
United States > US
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Summary:Was Barack Hussein Obama born outside the United States, so that his presidency and all laws passed under it are unconstitutional? Are two out of every five Americans black? Did the crime rate rise during the first 15 years of the twenty-first century? These are questions of factual information, to which there are correct answers—respectively, no, no, and no. Knowing the right answer to each question is important for making appropriate political choices and policy decisions. And yet in opinion polls, mainstream media, and general public discourse, many sensible and educated Americans have answered yes to each of these queries. They are wrong, and their views are likely to be associated with—and may even contribute to—consequential and problematic political actions or public policies.
Bibliography:istex:FD2052FEE6F73A57A7526AE70D14E45BB90D9290
ark:/67375/WNG-F6XVRNZF-T
ArticleID:POLQ12398
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:0032-3195
1538-165X
DOI:10.1002/polq.12398