Unfit to Print: The Effects of Exposure to Fake News on Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Crime

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Although there is a rich body of research on attitudes toward immigration, most work is based on observational data. The current study utilized an experimental design where participants were introduced to 1 of 8 conditions. In 4 conditions (“education”) participants followed a link to a fake news article describing a crime committed by an immigrant. In the other 4 conditions (“control”) participants were linked to a true filler article. All participants then followed a second link to a true or fake news report about an internationally relevant threatening event that occurred either inside or outside the United States. Participants then gave their impressions about the websites and articles, completed attitude scales and answered questions about their beliefs concerning the association between immigration and crime. We hypothesized that participants in the education conditions would express more negative attitudes toward immigrants and that the effect would be exacerbated by news of an international event outside the U.S., regardless of article veracity. Participants in the control group who read about an internationally relevant threat (true or fake) inside the U.S. were expected to express more positive attitudes toward immigrants.

Authors

• Holly A Lonergan, University of Cincinnati

• Elizabeth Spievak, Bridgewater State University

• Feodor Gostjev, Bridgewater State University