Undermining the Corrective Effects of Media-Based Political Fact Checking? The Role of Contextual Cues and Naïve Theory

• Published in: Journal of communication Vol. 63; no. 4; pp. 617 - 637
• Main Authors: Garrett, R. Kelly, Nisbet, Erik C., Lynch, Emily K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2013; Wiley; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Communication; Cues; Culture; Error correction models; Experiments; Forecasts; Information; Internet; Islam; Knowledge; New York; Objectivity; Prediction; Resistance; September 11th 2001; Social surveys; Sociology; Sociology of communication and mass media. Sociolinguistics; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Terrorism; Threats; Trust; U.S.A; United States > US; New York City New York; Belief; Refusal; Media; Controversy; Information; Communication
• ISSN: 0021-9916; 1460-2466
• DOI: 10.1111/jcom.12038

Media‐based fact checking contributes to more accurate political knowledge, but its corrective effects are limited. We argue that biographical information included in a corrective message, which is often unrelated to the inaccurate claim itself, can activate misperception‐congruent naïve theories, increasing confidence in a misperception's plausibility and inducing skepticism toward denials. Resistance to corrections occurs regardless of initial belief accuracy, but the effect is strongest among those who find the contextual information objectionable or threatening. We test these claims using an online survey‐embedded experiment (N = 750) conducted in the wake of the controversy over the proposed Islamic cultural center in New York City near the site of the 9/11 attacks, and find support for our predictions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.