Cognitive processing of political fake news. Review of experimental studies

Authors

  • Pamela A. Paz García Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9926-3617
  • Natalia E. Danieli Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3087-2996
  • Isaac E. Moreano Freire Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-9585

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22235/d.v37i1.3112

Keywords:

fake news, post-truth, disinformation, susceptibility, political psychology

Abstract

What are fake news? What are their impacts on contemporary political life? Why are people susceptible—or not—to this type of information? Keeping these questions as the central focus, a systematic review of experimental studies on susceptibility versus identification of political fake news is proposed, covering publications between 2017 and 2022 in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. Susceptibility factors are identified as low performance in analytical thinking, ideological congruence, and trusting environments (shared news), while high-performance analytical thinking, political knowledge, deliberation time, and more institutionalized journalistic sources and formats often function as discernment factors. The need to continue advancing in the creation and dissemination of effective strategies for citizens to distinguish the truthfulness of the political information they consume is addressed, given its importance for democratic life.

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References

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Published

2023-05-19

How to Cite

Paz García, P. A., Danieli, N. E., & Moreano Freire, I. E. (2023). Cognitive processing of political fake news. Review of experimental studies. Dixit, 37(1), 44–60. https://doi.org/10.22235/d.v37i1.3112

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Section

Research articles