How Does Fake News Affect Elections?

Research Inquiry Question

How does fake news content contribute to or hinder the electoral processes of American politicians?

Annotated Bibliography

Chadwick, A., Vaccari, C., & Kaiser, J. (2022). The Amplification of Exaggerated and False News on Social Media: The Roles of Platform Use, Motivations, Affect, and Ideology. American Behavioral Scientist, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642221118264

In this source, the authors describe an experiment that they conducted in order to understand just how many people were actually regularly being exposed to misinformation. Their studies showed that over a tenth of their sample population were being exposed to misinformation on a daily basis.

Chatfield, A. T., Reddick, C. G., & Choi, K. P. (2017). Online media use of false news to frame the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. Proceedings of the 18th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research. https://doi.org/10.1145/3085228.3085295

This source focuses on the 2016 election and how misinformation was involved in it.Although the study was inconclusive, weak frames of misinformation might have failed toinfluence the mass audience. I chose this source to give a direct link to a political election inwhich fake news was deeply rooted within.

Garrett RK (2019) Social media’s contribution to political misperceptions in U.S. Presidential elections. PLoS ONE 14(3): e0213500. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213500

This source delves into the assessment of whether popular and prevalent media platforms endorse the promotion of falsities about major party candidates and campaign issues. This source will be helpful in providing insight into false news content and its effects on a presidential election.

Giglietto, F., Iannelli, L., Valeriani, A., & Rossi, L. (2019). ‘Fake news’ is the invention of a liar: How false information circulates within the hybrid news system. Current Sociology. DOI: 10.1177/0011392119837536 Convegno AssoComPol 2016 (Urbino, 15–17 December 2016)

This source describes different types of fake news, and its micro and macro impacts. This source is important because it gives me a better understanding of what fake news is and how it impacts different people and institutions.

Grossman, G., & Helpman, E. (2019). Electoral competition with fake news. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3476489

The Journal article “Electoral Competition with Fake News” discusses how most effects of fake news depend on voters’ bias in accessing information sources. This source is important because it discusses different political effects of fake news, and how it influences voters during elections.

Hill, L., Douglass, M., Baltutis, R. (2022). The Effects of False Campaign Statements. In: How and Why to Regulate False Political Advertising in Australia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2123-0_2

This source explains how biased news is produced more frequently when consumers’ feedback about the true state of the world is limited, and when the true quality of a media firm cannot be determined. It also discusses incentives for the information market to produce this false information, and its effect politically. I chose this source because it provides more in-depth background into why fake news content and advertising is so harmful in different contexts.

Jankowski, N. W. (2018). Researching Fake News: A Selective Examination of Empirical Studies. Javnost — The Public, 25(1–2), 248–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2018.1418964

This source explains the rise of fake news, crediting it back during the 2016 political elections. The source also compares two very different studies while giving insight into fake news. This is an important source because it is a reliable account of studies having to do with politics and fake news.

Reedy, J., Wells, C., & Gastil, J. (2014). How voters become misinformed: An investigation of the emergence and consequences of false factual beliefs. Social Science Quarterly, 95(5), 1399–1418. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12102

This source explains whether voters’ values are a result of false media, or whether deep-seated values sway their acceptance of factual claims. This is an important source because it discusses more sides to why a voter might feel the way they do.

Smith, Kristian Nicole, “Social Media and Political Campaigns’’ (2011). Chancellor’ s Honors Program Projects. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1470

This source explains how social media is used in political campaigns. It also discusses how many politicians use social media to boost their campaigns, and what effect, if any, it has on the outcome of the elections. I chose this source because it gives me more information about how social media is used by politicians and why.

van der Linden, S., Panagopoulos, C., & Roozenbeek, J. (2020). You are fake news: Political bias in perceptions of fake news. Media, Culture & Society, 42(3), 460–470. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720906992

This journal article provides an interesting psychological bias called the “fake news effect.” The study that was conducted determined that both the liberal and conservative parties consume fake news from respective biased news sites. This is an important source because it talks about the psychological side of fake news when it comes to political elections.

Venn Diagram

Reflection Essay

LEAP 3 was an interesting experience for me. When beginning this project, I was debating in which direction I could take it. Being given a broad range of topics to choose from, I was able to narrow down my research inquiry by relevance, as well as my personal interest. From there, I found numerous sources that gave me insight into how fake news content can play a role when it comes to the public and voting in political elections. Sources also described how the politicians dealt with fake news as well as how misinformation can grow and spread. After doing research, I created a venn diagram comparing and contrasting fake news and reliable media. Then, combining my research findings and notes, I was able to create a short video answering my research inquiry. When making this video, I utilized google slides to create a visual aspect in order to make my presentation more enjoyable and also to reinforce my points. I used ScreenPal to record the presentation. Using that software was fairly easy for me due to the fact that we have previously used it this semester. I used time management skills to space out the work so that I would successfully be able to complete it.

From completing this project, I learned that I feel more prepared and confident for a project such as this when I give myself enough time to do it. In past courses, it has been a struggle for me to begin a project unless it is at the last second. With this project, I have learned that I am fully capable of creating something I am proud of by simply setting aside time each day to work on this. After deep diving into my research inquiry and getting different perspectives through my research, I feel so much more knowledgeable about fake news and misinformation as a whole. If I were to have to determine a piece of media to be false or reliable, I fully believe I am now able to do so with ease. I think that is my biggest takeaway from this project. I feel like it improved my media literacy. Another thing I learned is how to analyze political media differently than other types of media. A lot of the time in politics, the media is being created by one “side” in order to essentially bash the other side. When viewing any type of media that is deemed political, I know now to never forget that fact and to be always thinking about it while viewing this type of content.

During my research into the effects of fake news content and misinformation on political elections, many new questions arose. First, I would like to do more research in the future on how misinformative content can be avoided- if it can be at all- in elections, and how media companies themselves can help in this. Another question I have relating to my research topic has to do with the repercussions for the people who are committing the spread of the misinformation. Through my research I wasn’t able to find much about consequences for the creators of this type of media, but I feel as though there really should be. Misinformation can affect people’s lives greatly and if there was more deterrence to keep people from wanting to commit this act, I think that would be hugely beneficial for everyone. I would also like to learn more about how other countries are affected by misinformation in their elections, or if it is really an issue at all. I focused on the U.S for this leap project but I am interested in researching the effects of misinformation on a global scale in the future. With all of that being said, I enjoyed this LEAP 3 project more than the two prior. I feel as though I had more freedom to research something I was really interested in, and it made the experience a lot more enjoyable.