Summary
A new Journal of Marketing study finds that political polarization drives Republicans to spread misinformation to gain partisan advantage, while Democrats do not exhibit this behavior.
Republicans value winning highly and are more likely to share misinformation, even when its truth is questionable.
Six studies, including analyses of fact-checked statements, surveys, and presidential speeches, support these findings.
The spread of misinformation undermines democratic processes, such as increased restrictive voting laws after the 2020 election.
Researchers suggest reducing polarization, investing in fact-checking, and expanding media literacy education to combat misinformation’s impact.
What is the point you want to make?
That nothing will change until a stronger response than “it’s too bad Republicans have a tendency to spread misinformation” is made. We’ve known that to be a big problem for at least a decade and yet we categorically refuse to do anything about it. If government won’t address it then perhaps it’s time for more direct citizen involvement in the solution. I’ll leave the specifics of that suggestion to your imagination but I will say that social media execs have a very similar view to health insurance executives regarding the responsibility their industry has to address the damage they cause to society as a whole.