The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case

João Pedro Baptista, Elisete Correia, Anabela Gradim and Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval
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João Pedro Baptista: Department of Communication, Philosophy and Politics, University of Beira Interior (UBI), 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Elisete Correia: Center for Computational and Stochastic Mathematics (CEMAT), Department of Mathematics, IST-UL, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Anabela Gradim: Department of Communication, Philosophy and Politics, University of Beira Interior (UBI), 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval: Observatorio de los Contenidos Audiovisuales, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain

Publications, 2021, vol. 9, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: The relationship between a subject’s ideological persuasion with the belief and spread of fake news is the object of our study. Departing from a left- vs. right-wing framework, a questionnaire sought to position subjects on this political-ideological spectrum and demanded them to evaluate five pro-left and pro-right fake and real news, totaling 20 informational products. The results show the belief and dissemination of (fake) news are related to the political ideology of the participants, with right-wing subjects exhibiting a greater tendency to accept fake news, regardless of whether it is pro-left or pro-right fake news. These findings contradict the confirmation bias and may suggest that a greater influence of factors such as age, the level of digital news literacy and psychological aspects in the judgment of fake news are at play. Older and less educated respondents indicated they believed and would disseminate fake news at greater rates. Regardless of the ideology they favor, the Portuguese attributed higher credibility to the sample’s real news, a fact that can be meaningful regarding the fight against disinformation in Portugal and elsewhere.

Keywords: political bias; fake news; disinformation; left–right dimension (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A2 D83 L82 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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