The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case
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-l...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-05-01
|
| Series: | Publications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6775/9/2/23 |
| _version_ | 1797532397675216896 |
|---|---|
| author | João Pedro Baptista Elisete Correia Anabela Gradim Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval |
| author_facet | João Pedro Baptista Elisete Correia Anabela Gradim Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval |
| author_sort | João Pedro Baptista |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:58:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72b1ea4de1c54b9baa310c4d7a5da1bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-6775 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:58:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Publications |
| spelling | doaj.art-72b1ea4de1c54b9baa310c4d7a5da1bf2023-11-21T21:40:08ZengMDPI AGPublications2304-67752021-05-01922310.3390/publications9020023The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese CaseJoão Pedro Baptista0Elisete Correia1Anabela Gradim2Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval3Department of Communication, Philosophy and Politics, University of Beira Interior (UBI), 6201-001 Covilhã, PortugalCenter for Computational and Stochastic Mathematics (CEMAT), Department of Mathematics, IST-UL, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalDepartment of Communication, Philosophy and Politics, University of Beira Interior (UBI), 6201-001 Covilhã, PortugalObservatorio de los Contenidos Audiovisuales, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, SpainThe 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6775/9/2/23political biasfake newsdisinformationleft–right dimension |
| spellingShingle | João Pedro Baptista Elisete Correia Anabela Gradim Valeriano Piñeiro-Naval The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case Publications political bias fake news disinformation left–right dimension |
| title | The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case |
| title_full | The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case |
| title_fullStr | The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case |
| title_short | The Influence of Political Ideology on Fake News Belief: The Portuguese Case |
| title_sort | influence of political ideology on fake news belief the portuguese case |
| topic | political bias fake news disinformation left–right dimension |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6775/9/2/23 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joaopedrobaptista theinfluenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT elisetecorreia theinfluenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT anabelagradim theinfluenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT valerianopineironaval theinfluenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT joaopedrobaptista influenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT elisetecorreia influenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT anabelagradim influenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase AT valerianopineironaval influenceofpoliticalideologyonfakenewsbelieftheportuguesecase |