{"id":11917,"date":"2024-12-18T15:30:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T15:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/?p=11917"},"modified":"2024-12-18T15:30:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T15:30:26","slug":"fact-and-fiction-in-american-politics-and-when-it-doesnt-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/2024\/12\/18\/fact-and-fiction-in-american-politics-and-when-it-doesnt-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact and Fiction in American Politics \u2013 And When It Doesn\u2019t Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n Minjae Kim, Oliver Hahl, Ethan Poskanzer, and Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan, <\/span>“When Truth Trumps Facts: Studies on Partisan Moral Flexibility in American Politics,” American Journal of Sociology<\/em>,<\/a><\/span> 2024<\/span><\/div>\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A slogan on the side of a truck. A U.S. flag is superimposed over an outline of the United States, above a large red banner emblazoned with the words \u201cMade in America. This image, titled “Made in America Product Showcase<\/a>,” is attributed to The White House<\/a> and is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contemporary American politics is filled with division and conflict. In this polarized climate, attention to truth and lies remains a central focus of public conversation. Concerns about and accusations of \u201cmisinformation\u201d and \u201cfake news\u201d circulate frequently, giving rise to important questions. How important are evidence and facts in determining people\u2019s support of politicians\u2019 statements? And are liberals or conservatives more committed to the truth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>A recent study<\/a> helps to answer these questions. Minjae Kim<\/a> and colleagues researched how American voters evaluated factually untrue statements given by prominent politicians from the Republican and Democratic parties. Through online surveys, the researchers found that Americans across political lines had a pronounced tendency to support statements by politicians from their own party even after being told that the statements had been proven false.Americans across political lines had a pronounced tendency to support statements by politicians from their own party even after being told that the statements had been proven<\/strong> false.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These respondents justified accepting false statements in moral terms, answering that it\u2019s more important their favored politician \u201csent the right message about American priorities\u201d \u2013 in other words, that the ends justify the means<\/strong>. However, when judging statements by politicians from the opposing party (e.g. when Democrats were judging false statements from Republicans), respondents instead emphasized the importance of objective evidence and accountability. Again, the researchers found these patterns held for both<\/strong> Republican and Democratic voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study reveals that facts tend to carry less weight than a person\u2019s community and political commitments and how these shape American beliefs regarding \u201cdeeper truths\u201d about political issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minjae Kim, Oliver Hahl, Ethan Poskanzer, and Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan, “When Truth Trumps Facts: Studies on Partisan Moral Flexibility in American Politics,” American Journal of Sociology, 2024 A slogan on the side of a truck. A U.S. flag is superimposed over an outline of the United States, above a large red banner emblazoned with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2217,"featured_media":11918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,85],"tags":[139090,139078,102600,139058,139128,139111,139122,139079,139095,139121,139115,139087,139123,139065,4487,139081,139134,139076,139113,139063,139119,139077,139060,139072,139053,139098,139086,139074,139054,139125,139056,139117,139062,139083,139106,139101,139116,139084,139075,139096,139052,139071,139064,139105,27063,139109,139066,139132,139061,139067,139057,139070,139120,139126,139102,139107,139112,139131,139088,139094,139093,95755,139082,139073,1124,139099,139059,139091,139085,139136,139114,139080,139100,693,139130,75,139118,139127,138029,139129,139103,139135,20791,139124,139104,139089,139055,139069,139097,139110,139133,139068,139092,139108],"class_list":["post-11917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-politics","tag-american-democracy","tag-american-journal-of-sociology","tag-american-politics","tag-american-priorities","tag-american-societal-values","tag-american-sociology","tag-american-values","tag-american-voters","tag-bipartisan-behavior","tag-bipartisan-tendencies","tag-community-values","tag-contemporary-politics","tag-cultural-politics","tag-deeper-truths","tag-democratic-party","tag-ends-justify-the-means","tag-ends-vs-means","tag-ethan-poskanzer","tag-ethical-implications","tag-evidence-in-politics","tag-evidence-based-politics","tag-ezra-zuckerman-sivan","tag-fact-vs-fiction","tag-fact-checking","tag-fake-news","tag-made-in-america","tag-media-and-politics","tag-minjae-kim","tag-misinformation","tag-moral-commitments","tag-moral-flexibility","tag-moral-imperatives","tag-moral-justification","tag-moral-priorities","tag-moral-reasoning","tag-national-identity","tag-national-priorities","tag-objective-evidence","tag-oliver-hahl","tag-online-surveys","tag-partisan-bias","tag-partisan-dynamics","tag-partisan-loyalty","tag-partisan-narratives","tag-partisanship","tag-party-loyalty","tag-political-accountability","tag-political-analysis","tag-political-beliefs","tag-political-commitment","tag-political-division","tag-political-ethics","tag-political-ethics-study","tag-political-ideologies","tag-political-imagery","tag-political-judgment","tag-political-messaging","tag-political-messaging-strategies","tag-political-misinformation","tag-political-morality","tag-political-narratives","tag-political-polarization","tag-political-psychology","tag-political-research","tag-political-science","tag-political-slogans","tag-political-statements","tag-political-studies","tag-political-truth","tag-political-truth-dynamics","tag-political-truth-telling","tag-public-conversation","tag-public-domain-mark","tag-public-opinion","tag-public-perception","tag-republican-party","tag-research-findings","tag-research-in-politics","tag-social-science-research","tag-sociology-and-politics","tag-sociology-of-politics","tag-study-on-politics","tag-survey-research","tag-truth-and-facts","tag-truth-and-lies","tag-truth-in-american-society","tag-truth-in-politics","tag-truth-vs-lies","tag-u-s-flag-symbolism","tag-u-s-politics","tag-voter-attitudes","tag-voter-behavior","tag-voter-decision-making","tag-voter-preferences"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/files\/2024\/12\/35858055091_6a095a5389_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11917"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11922,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11917\/revisions\/11922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/discoveries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}