DEMOCRACY WATCHWhen Rumors Take Flight
Misinformation pervades U.S. politics, with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election being the most pressing case in point as a result of the persistent, unrelenting Big Lie campaign by Donald Trump and some of his allies. Yet Trump’s lies and unfounded claims have gained wide traction among his followers. MIT professor Adam Berinsky’s new book examines the political misinformation that threatens the U.S. system of government.
Misinformation pervades U.S. politics.
The outcome of the 2020 presidential election is perhaps the most pressing case in point. Every serious-minded academic and legal inquiry into the subject — including two cases that came before the U.S. Supreme Court — has rejected former President Donald Trump’s assertion that he did not lose the election. Major media organizations now routinely label these statements “lies.” Yet Trump’s unfounded claims have gained wide traction among his followers.
“The evidence against claims that the 2020 election was stolen is overwhelming and clear,” writes MIT political scientist Adam Berinsky in a new book. “The persistence of false information like this is troubling for the prospects of our political system.”
To be sure, misinformation has long flooded U.S. politics, from the early days of the republic to conspiracy theories about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; falsehoods about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and false claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in America.
But what Berinsky terms “weaponized mistruths” seem more prevalent than ever — or at least, are spread by some political elites more than ever. Finding a way to combat that is difficult.
“Coming to grips with misinformation is really, really hard,” says Berinsky, who is the Mitsui Professor of Political Science at MIT and director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab (PERL). He would know: Starting around 2010, Berinsky became one of the first political scientists to start running systematic experiments about in the subject.
Now Berinsky delves into the subject in his book, “Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight It,” published today by Princeton University Press. In it, he explores misinformation research and remedies — but notes that each tactic chips away the problem, rather than suddenly solving it.
“I can’t claim there are a few easy things you can do to correct the problem,” Berinsky says. “But we shouldn’t throw up our hands and say, ‘Oh, this is hopeless.’ The key is to recognize the challenge and reframe our thinking about it.”
