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Misinformation, Misperceptions and Conspiracy Theories

Module description

This module will examine three distinct but related areas of study of significant importance in contemporary politics —misinformation, misperceptions, and conspiracy thinking. This module considers each of these three distinct but related topics, including but not limited to: the epistemological foundations of how we identify each of the three phenomena, the prevalence of each in society (and their correlates), and possible interventions designed to ameliorate the damage they may cause to society. While the course focuses mostly on the political domain, we will also examine aligned domains such as health (e.g., vaccine attitudes and behaviors). We will also examine how these phenomena are associated with policy preferences and election outcomes.

Module aims - intentions of the module

You will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the three key topics of misinformation, misperceptions, and conspiracy theories. You will learn the important role that these play in public discourse, and the threats they pose to healthy democracies. You will be exposed to multiple competing theoretical approaches and will be able to articulate similarities and differences to these competing approaches. As most readings will include quantitative data analysis, you will be able to develop and refine your skills reading and evaluating this type of work. There are no quantitative prerequisites (the instructors will give all relevant training to perform well in the course, but you should be prepared to engage with quantitative work). Taken together, this class will help your skills in applying theory to data, and subsequently using data to inform theory. The module may include opportunities for original data collection and analysis.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate knowledge of the major theories in the field of misperceptions and misinformation (including conspiracy theories)
• 2. demonstrate knowledge of basic and advanced methodologies used by public opinion researchers

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. understand and critically evaluate a broad spectrum of research designs, with a particular focus on quantitative research
• 4. exercise informed judgment concerning the use of empirical evidence in support of an argument in published research

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. demonstrate critical-thinking, in particular as related to quantitative evidence and conclusions
• 6. demonstrate ability to present complex arguments with clarity and concision
• 7. work independently and with peers to meet common research and assessment deadlines effectively

Syllabus plan

While the specific syllabus plan will change depending on both the most recent research and who is teaching the module, the following broad topics (1-2 weeks per topic) should be expected, with the possibility of additional topics also covered:

• How prevalent in misinformation? How do we identify good information from bad information?
• Who consumes misinformation (or “fake news”)? What are the primary vectors by which misinformation spreads in society? What are the correlates of consuming misinformation, and how is this information consumed? What factors are associated with people choosing to spread misinformation?
• Are interventions capable of stopping the spread of misinformation, or how people process information that is of dubious quality? What is the current state-of-the-art in effective interventions?
• How prevalent are misperceptions in the public? What do misperceptions (and their persistence) tell us about the health of public discourse and democracy? How are misperceptions related to motivated reasoning? Why are some people more accurate in their factual beliefs than others?
• Can misperceptions be corrected? If so, what are best practices for correcting misperceptions? Can journalistic fact-checking stop help voters and consumers, and stop the spread of misinformation?
• How prevalent are conspiracy beliefs? What factors associated with believing in conspiracy theories? How (easily) does conspiracy ideation spread?

While not a specific topic, a companion theme to the broad topics and questions above is how the answers may vary across different countries. While most research in this area is conducted with data from the United States, we will also include data from additional countries to better understand to which these are universal problems, or whether they are specifically rooted in the particular political culture and institutions of the United States.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Douglas, K. M., Uscinski, J. E., Sutton, R. M., Cichocka, A., Nefes, T., Ang, C. S., & Deravi, F. (2019). Understanding conspiracy theories. Political Psychology, 40, 3-35.
• Flynn, D., B. Nyhan and J. Reifler (2017). The nature and origins of misperceptions: understanding false and unsupported beliefs about politics. Political Psychology38 (S1): 127–150.
• Guess, Andrew M., Michael Lerner, Benjamin Lyons, Jacob M. Montgomery, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler, and Neelanjan Sircar. (2020) A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences117, no. 27: 15536-15545.
• Guess, Andrew, Jonathan Nagler, and Joshua Tucker. Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook. Science advances5, no. 1 (2019): eaau4586.
• Jerit, Jennifer, and Yangzi Zhao. "Political misinformation." Annual Review of Political Science23 (2020): 77-94.
• Uscinski, J.E., 2018. Conspiracy theories and the people who believe them. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Key words search

Misinformation, misperceptions, conspiracy theories, post factual politics, “fake news”, public opinion research, political behaviour