Seeing and Believing Pro-Trump Fake News: The Interacting Roles of Online News Sources, Partisanship, and Education

Authors

  • Patrick C. Meirick University of Oklahoma
  • Amanda E. Franklyn University of Oklahoma

Keywords:

fake news, misinformation, Facebook, Fox News, motivated reasoning, selective exposure, misperceptions, online news

Abstract

This study examined secondary survey data (N = 3,015) that asked respondents about real and pro-Trump fake news headlines in late 2016 as well as their reliance on online news sources. Reliance on Facebook for news was a vector for exposure to pro-Trump fake news but not for believing it. Reliance on Fox News online and on nonlegacy news sites was positively associated both with exposure to and perceived accuracy of pro-Trump fake news. The Fox News relationship with perceived accuracy was moderated by party and education such that Fox News reliance was a stronger predictor for Democrats and the more highly educated. Reliance on CNN online and elite newspaper sites was negatively related with the perceived accuracy of pro-Trump fake news. Implications for motivated reasoning theory and future directions are discussed. 

Author Biographies

Patrick C. Meirick, University of Oklahoma

Patrick C. Meirick (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is an associate professor of communication at the University of Oklahoma and an associate editor of Mass Communication and Society. His research examines misinformation and misperceptions, political advertising, framing, agenda-setting, and perceptions of media effects. He is the co-author (with Dr. Jill A. Edy) of A Nation Fragmented: The Public Agenda in the Information Age (Temple University Press, 2019).

Amanda E. Franklyn, University of Oklahoma

Amanda E. Franklyn (M.A., Oklahoma State University) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. Her research interests include political communication, media, and political behavior. 

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Published

2022-06-29

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Articles

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