This is a new area of study for researchers. But the evidence we have so far is promising.
Politicians, public institutions and the media have different incentives
Many newspapers and broadcasters have a policy, at least in theory, of correcting errors. Readers are used to seeing a corrections column as they open their paper, for example, and Full Fact regularly asks newspapers to update their articles when we find a mistake.
But recognising an inaccuracy can be considerably more delicate for elected officials.
Sometimes, public figures admit to getting it wrong (one MP made a correction video on Twitter in response to a Full Fact fact check, while another clarified a mistake after we corrected their figures).
In many instances, however, inaccurate claims are repeated, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (claims from both the Conservatives and Labour were repeated in last year's election after they were shown to be wrong).
However, a recent US study has shown that sending politicians a direct warning about being fact checked can have an impact.
Warning US politicians about fact checking increased accuracy
An experiment conducted in the US one month before the 2012 election found that legislators who had been sent letters warning them of the reputational consequences of making inaccurate statements - were also less likely to be found making them.
Researchers assigned 1,200 legislators to three groups:
- One group received a letter which explained the process of fact checking, outlining the risks of making inaccurate statements. This was the “treatment” group.
- The second “placebo” group was sent a letter noting that campaign accuracy was monitored in general, with no mention of fact checking.
- The third “control” group received no letter at all.
Results:
- Participants in the treatment group were half as likely to be questioned by PolitiFact or media outlets.
- Though the rate of inaccuracies was low across the board, 1.3% of legislators in the treatment condition had their accuracy questioned, compared to 2.8% in the placebo or control groups
The evidence base informing this briefing is at an early stage. But we should take these results seriously, and continue similar research.
Alongside this, fact checkers like Full Fact will continue calling out bad information, and encouraging our media and politicians to change their behaviour.
Read the briefing, and tell us what you think.
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