Sex Trafficking, Russian Infiltration, Birth Certificates, and Pedophilia: A Survey Experiment Correcting Fake News

45 Pages Posted: 21 Nov 2017

See all articles by Ethan Porter

Ethan Porter

George Washington University

Thomas Wood

Ohio State University (OSU)

David Kirby

Cato Institute

Date Written: November 17, 2017

Abstract

The spread of false news stories, or “fake news,” is of pressing concern to social scientists and policymakers. Here, we summarize the results of one of the first attempts to correct fake news. Subjects were presented with multiple real-world examples of fake news, drawn from across the political spectrum. We find strong evidence that citizens are willing to accept corrections to fake news, regardless of their ideology and the content of the fake stories.

Keywords: misinformation, fake news, public opinion

Suggested Citation

Porter, Ethan and Wood, Thomas and Kirby, David, Sex Trafficking, Russian Infiltration, Birth Certificates, and Pedophilia: A Survey Experiment Correcting Fake News (November 17, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3073294 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3073294

Ethan Porter (Contact Author)

George Washington University ( email )

2121 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
United States

Thomas Wood

Ohio State University (OSU) ( email )

Blankenship Hall-2010
901 Woody Hayes Drive
Columbus, OH OH 43210
United States

David Kirby

Cato Institute ( email )

1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-5403
United States

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