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Measuring exposure to misinformation from political elites on Twitter

Author

Listed:
  • Mohsen Mosleh

    (University of Exeter Business School
    Alan Turing Institute
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • David G. Rand

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Misinformation can come directly from public figures and organizations (referred to here as “elites”). Here, we develop a tool for measuring Twitter users’ exposure to misinformation from elites based on the public figures and organizations they choose to follow. Using a database of professional fact-checks by PolitiFact, we calculate falsity scores for 816 elites based on the veracity of their statements. We then assign users an elite misinformation-exposure score based on the falsity scores of the elites they follow on Twitter. Users’ misinformation-exposure scores are negatively correlated with the quality of news they share themselves, and positively correlated with estimated conservative ideology. Additionally, we analyze the co-follower, co-share, and co-retweet networks of 5000 Twitter users and observe an association between conservative ideology and misinformation exposure. Finally, we find that estimated ideological extremity is associated with more misinformation exposure to a greater extent for users estimated to be conservative than for users estimated to be liberal. Finally, we create an open-source R library and an Application Programming Interface (API) making our elite misinformation-exposure estimation tool openly available to the community.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohsen Mosleh & David G. Rand, 2022. "Measuring exposure to misinformation from political elites on Twitter," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-34769-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34769-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steve Rathje & Jon Roozenbeek & Jay J. Bavel & Sander Linden, 2023. "Accuracy and social motivations shape judgements of (mis)information," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(6), pages 892-903, June.

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