Replication Data for: Conceptual Replication of Four Key Findings about Factual Corrections and Misinformation During the 2020 U.S. Election: Evidence from Panel Survey Experiments

In the final two months of the 2020 U.S. election, we conducted eight panel experiments to evaluate the immediate and medium-term effects of misinformation and factual corrections. Our results corroborate four sets of existing findings: fact-checks reliably improve factual accuracy, while misinformation degrades it; effects of fact-checks on belief accuracy endure, although they fade with time; effects on attitudes are minuscule; and there are important partisan asymmetries. We also offer one new empirical finding suggesting that effect heterogeneities by personality type and cognitive style may reflect attention paid to treatments. Our study confirms that the fundamental push and pull of misinformation and factual corrections on political beliefs holds even in electoral settings as saturated with mistruths as the 2020 U.S. election.

在2020年美国大选的最后两个月，我们实施了八项面板实验，以评估虚假信息（misinformation）与事实更正（factual corrections）的即时及中期影响。我们的研究结果验证了四项既有研究结论：事实核查（fact-checks）可有效提升事实准确性，而虚假信息则会降低该准确性；事实核查对信念准确性的影响具有持续性，尽管会随时间推移而逐步减弱；其对态度的影响较为微弱；且存在显著的党派不对称性（partisan asymmetries）。我们还提出了一项全新的实证发现，即基于人格类型与认知风格的效应异质性，或可反映被试对实验干预的关注程度。本研究证实，即便在如2020年美国大选这般充斥着虚假信息的选举场景中，虚假信息与事实更正对政治信念的核心双向作用依然成立。