Do people demand fact-checked news? Evidence from U.S. Democrats

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Public Economics
Year: 2022
Volume: 205
Issue: C

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

In a large-scale online experiment with U.S. Democrats, we examine how the demand for a newsletter about an economic relief plan changes when the newsletter content is fact-checked. We first document an overall muted demand for fact-checking when the newsletter features stories from an ideologically aligned source, even though fact-checking increases the perceived accuracy of the newsletter. The average impact of fact-checking masks substantial heterogeneity by ideology: fact-checking reduces demand among Democrats with strong ideological views and increases demand among ideologically moderate Democrats. Furthermore, fact-checking increases demand among all Democrats when the newsletter features stories from an ideologically non-aligned source.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:pubeco:v:205:y:2022:i:c:s0047272721001857
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25