Does ideology trump facts? Studies say it often does

[n2doc]

We like to think that people will be well informed before making important decisions, such as who to vote for, but the truth is that's not always the case. Being uninformed is one thing, but having a population that's actively misinformed presents problems when it comes to participating in the national debate, or the democratic process. If the findings of some political scientists are right, attempting to correct misinformation might do nothing more than reinforce the false belief.

This sort of misinformation isn't hypothetical; in 2003 a study found that viewers of Fox News were significantly more misinformed about the Iraq war, with far greater percentages of viewers erroneously believing that Iraq possessed WMDs or that there was a credible link between the 9/11 attack and Saddam Hussein than those who got their news from other outlets like NPR and PBS. This has led to the rise of websites like FactCheck and SourceWatch.

Saying that correcting misinformation does little more than reinforce a false believe is a pretty controversial proposal, but the claim is based on a number of studies that examine the effect of political or ideological bias on fact correction. In the studies, volunteers were shown news items or political adverts that contained misinformation, followed by a correction. For example, a study by John Bullock of Yale showed volunteers a political ad created by NARAL that linked Justice John Roberts to a violent anti-abortion group, followed by news that the ad had been withdrawn. Interestingly, Democratic participants had a worse opinion of Roberts after being shown the ad, even after they were told it was false.

Over half (56 percent) of Democratic subjects disapproved of Roberts before the misinformation. That rose to 80 percent afterward, but even after correcting the misinformation, 72 percent of Democratic subjects still had a negative opinion. Republican volunteers, on the other hand, only showed a small increase in disapproval after watching the misinformation (11 percent vs 14 percent).



more:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080924-does-ideology-trump-facts-studies-say-it-often-does.html

[guitar man]

1. I'm not interested in your "so called facts"

I know who Jesus wants me to vote for and that's all that matters! :crazy:

[Naturalist]

3. Just who the Hell might that be...lol

[BOSSHOG]

2. Ideology is a conservative value. To them, facts are a nuisance

[fascisthunter]

4. of course it does.... look at the Republican Party

...in the face of failure they still spout the same BS. Facts be damned....

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Ideology, especially fanatic ideology will most certainly trump facts.

If you look at the attitude about global warming by some "scientists", you see how their politics colors their view of facts.
They see everything thru the binoculars of their fanaticism.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. and btw..Why isn't Comedy Central on that chart????

:thumbsup: :hi:

[SoCalDem]

7. Of course it does.. no surprise to me..

What your overall philosophy is, affects how you think, and how you analyze what you read..

Our local news provided a great example when my boys were young..

a guy was hit by a car and killed..

Our local tv news just offered that information at first..

then a few hours later, they divulged more information..


1) he was undocumented-Mexican
2) he was not in the crosswalk
3) the woman who hit him was driving her kids to school in her minivan

They also emphasized how "upset" her children were..

My son said to me.. "What difference does that stuff make?"

In CA, PEDESTRIANS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY.. even if they are not in a crosswalk..and the man was just as dead, whether he was a Mexican or a Martian.. She could have hit him with a Ferrari and he would still be as dead..

The implication was that:
minivan= white soccerMom
driving kids to school= innocent "mistake" by hitting the man
not in crosswalk= deserved to be hit
undocumented Mexican= no biggie

[Oregone]

8. I believe this study is meaningless.

:)