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Political Fact-checking and Its Effects on Public Attitudes: Experimental Evidence from China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2024

Chen Xiang  and
Ric Neo
Chen Xiang
Affiliation:
School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China Harvard–China Project on Energy, Economy and Environment, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Ric Neo*
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore
*
Corresponding author: Ric Neo; Email: neoqizhi@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study investigates the effect of political misinformation as propaganda on the legitimacy of the Chinese government. A survey experiment (n = 2,236) was conducted to analyse the effect of positively spun misinformation on citizens’ perceptions and support for the government on two pivotal issues: the economy and air pollution. Results show that spreading positively spun misinformation is beneficial to the regime, as it leads to positive perceptions of the issue and increased support for the government. Interestingly, even when misinformation is exposed through credibly sourced corrections, trust and support for the government remain as high or higher than for the control groups. These effects are significant and hold constant in two issue types, underscoring the strategic value of disseminating positively spun yet false information in China. These findings have rich implications for studies of misinformation and fact-checking in general and China's information politics in particular.

摘要

摘要

有关政府工作绩效的正面宣传能否提升政治支持与政治信任？而接收与官方相悖的信息又会如何更新民众对政府绩效的评价及政治支持？本研究集中关注经济发展与空气治理两大议题，通过设计与发放问卷实验（n = 2,236），发现中国政府运用积极信息报道手段能显著促进民众对议题的积极认知并提升政府支持度。此外，即使通过较为权威的信息来源纠正官方数据，民众对政府的信任及支持度仍然显著高于控制组。以上效应在两大议题中呈现出一致性，突显中国在政府工作绩效正面宣传上的战略性价值，对当下信息政治研究有一定启示意义。

Keywords

information politicsfact-checkingeconomyair pollutionChina信息政治事实核查经济空气污染中国
Type
Research Report
Information
The China Quarterly , First View , pp. 1 - 12
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London

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