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Opinions as Facts

Author

Listed:
  • Leonardo Bursztyn
  • Aakaash Rao
  • Christopher Roth
  • David Yanagizawa-Drott

Abstract

The rise of opinion programs has transformed television news. Because they present anchors’ subjective commentary and analysis, opinion programs often convey conflicting narratives about reality. We experimentally document that people across the ideological spectrum turn to opinion programs over “straight news”, even when provided large incentives to learn objective facts. We then examine the consequences of diverging narratives between opinion programs in a high-stakes setting: the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. We find stark differences in the adoption of preventative behaviours among viewers of the two most popular opinion programs, both on the same network, which adopted opposing narratives about the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We then show that areas with greater relative viewership of the program downplaying the threat experienced a greater number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our evidence suggests that opinion programs may distort important beliefs and behaviours.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Bursztyn & Aakaash Rao & Christopher Roth & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2023. "Opinions as Facts," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(4), pages 1832-1864.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:90:y:2023:i:4:p:1832-1864.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdac065
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Bursztyn & Georgy Egorov & Ingar Haaland & Aakaash Rao & Christopher Roth, 2023. "Justifying Dissent," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(3), pages 1403-1451.
    2. Jan Behringer & Lena Draeger & Sebastian Dullien & Sebastian Gechert, 2024. "News and Views on Public Finances: A Survey Experiment," FMM Working Paper 97-2024, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    3. Lara Marie Berger & Anna Kerkhof & Felix Mindl & Johannes Münster, 2023. "Debunking “Fake News” on Social Media: Short-Term and Longer-Term Effects of Fact Checking and Media Literacy Interventions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10576, CESifo.
    4. Bocar A. Ba & Abdoulaye Ndiaye & Roman G. Rivera & Alexander Whitefield, 2024. "Mispricing Narratives after Social Unrest," CESifo Working Paper Series 11264, CESifo.
    5. Lara Berger & Anna Kerkhof & Felix Mindl & Johannes Münster, 2023. "Debunking "Fake News" on Social Media: Short-Term and Longer-Term Effects of Fact Checking and Media Literacy Interventions," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 262, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    6. Alice Soldà & Marie Claire Villeval, 2025. "Narratives as a Persuasion Tool in Performance Appraisals," Working Papers 2505, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    7. Islam, Asad & Kusnadi, Gita & Rezki, Jahen & Sim, Armand & van Empel, Giovanni & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Zenou, Yves, 2024. "Addressing vaccine hesitancy using local ambassadors: A randomized controlled trial in Indonesia," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    8. Gianmarco Daniele & Andrea F.M. Martinangeli & Francesco Passarelli & Willem Sas & Lisa Windsteiger, 2023. "Externalities and the Erosion of Trust," CESifo Working Paper Series 10474, CESifo.
    9. Besley, Timothy & Dray, Sacha, 2023. "The political economy of lockdown: Does free media matter?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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