Research paper: Misinformation and the epistemic integrity of democracy

“I’ve won two Elections, the second far bigger than the first (it was Rigged!)” — Trump, 22 May 2023

“Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power. … the Defendant spread lies that there had been … fraud in the election and that he had actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. But the Defendant … disseminated them anyway. — Federal indictment of Trump, 1 August 2023

In response to my various queries about democracy or demagoguery, Pxy cites this 2024 research paper fairly often. 

The paper is by researchers trying to better understand how widespread misinformation campaigns and tactics undermine democracy in two major ways. One is by attacking confidence in democratic processes, especially elections. The other is by spreading false information that prevents or degrades evidence-based policymaking on issues like climate change and public health. The paper comments:

Democracy relies on a shared body of knowledge among citizens, for example trust in elections and reliable knowledge to inform policy-relevant debate. We review the evidence for widespread disinformation campaigns that are undermining this shared knowledge. We establish a common pattern by which science and scientists are discredited and how the most recent frontier in those attacks involves researchers in misinformation itself. We list several ways in which psychology can contribute to countermeasures.

Citizens must know that power will be transferred peacefully if an incumbent is voted out of office. The facts that 28% of American conservatives do not support a peaceful transfer of power, and that more than half of Republican voters continue to question the legitimacy of President Biden’s electoral win in 2020, must therefore cause concern. A CNN poll in August 2023 found that 69% of Republicans questioned the legitimacy of President Biden’s electoral win, with more than half of those (57%) believing that there was solid evidence for their view.

MAGA's authoritarian agenda relies heavily on demagoguery, lies, slanders, irrational emotional manipulation, scapegoating, etc. Most of the MAGA rank and file continue to support radical right authoritarianism, but at the same time believe they are supporting the opposite (democracy, rule of law, civil liberties, etc.). People familiar with this blog are aware of all of that. 

The paper points out that disinformation about climate change is well-known. It is strategically disseminated to the public through well-funded special interest and authoritarian networks. The fossil fuel industry provides donations to members of Congress in direct proportion to their propensity to vote against environmental policies. The evidence indicates that the global warming disinformation campaign has been successful. One analysis shows that major US news reporting and presidential speeches have become more similar to the outputs of warming skeptical organizations from the 1990s to 2010s. At the least, disinformation undermines the public’s knowledge and reduces acceptance of the reality of climate change. Worse yet, misinformation cancels out most the impact of accurate information among some people.

MAGA demagoguery includes attacks on scientists studying climate, COVID-19, and misinformation itself. They face organized harassment including death threats, frivolous legal complaints, and demands for emails and documents. In 2023, MAGA representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) launched investigations targeting misinformation researchers, demanding records and communications in what researchers describe as an attempt to suppress their work ahead of the 2024 election.

Clearly, unspun truth is the enemy of MAGA authoritarianism. That is the same for all other kinds of authoritarianism. Inconvenient truth is inherently anti-authoritarian.

MAGA demagoguery

Alligators can fly!