2025/01/01 by Natália Aruguete, Ernesto Calvo, Tiago Ventura · 1 voice
Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection #Media Influence and Politics #Misinformation and Its Impacts
paper · doi:10.1177/20531680251323120
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/12
This study examines how exposure to counter- and pro-attitudinal fact-checking messages impacts the fact-checker’s perceived quality and ideological leaning. In a well-powered and pre-registered survey experiment conducted during the 2021 mid-term election in Argentina, when COVID-19 was a polarizing issue, we exposed 5757 respondents to real tweets reporting the number of COVID-19 cases, followed by fact-checking adjudications that appropriately confirmed or refuted the original publication. Results show that pro-attitudinal messages increased the quality rating of the fact-checker, Chequeado, and made respondents perceive the organization ideologically closer to their views. Counter- attitudinal fact-checking also increases the perceived quality but has no significant effect on the perceived ideology of the fact-checker. Fact-checks are reputation-improving and do not seem to backfire. However, the intervention affects how voters perceive the ideological leaning of fact-checking organizations.