False memories for fake news during Ireland's abortion referendum

Murphy, Gillian; Loftus, Elizabeth F.; Hofstein Grady, Rebecca; Levine, Linda J.; Greene, Ciara M.

False memories for fake news during Ireland's abortion referendum

Files

10999_Murphyetal_PSCI_2019.pdf(400.58 KB)

Accepted version

Date

2019-08-21

Authors

Murphy, Gillian

Loftus, Elizabeth F.

Hofstein Grady, Rebecca

Levine, Linda J.

Greene, Ciara M.

Publisher

Sage Publications

Published Version

10.1177/0956797619864887

Abstract

The current study examined false memories in the week preceding the 2018 Irish abortion referendum. Participants (N = 3,140) viewed six news stories concerning campaign events—two fabricated and four authentic. Almost half of the sample reported a false memory for at least one fabricated event, with more than one third of participants reporting a specific memory of the event. “Yes” voters (those in favor of legalizing abortion) were more likely than “no” voters to “remember” a fabricated scandal regarding the campaign to vote “no,” and “no” voters were more likely than “yes” voters to “remember” a fabricated scandal regarding the campaign to vote “yes.” This difference was particularly strong for voters of low cognitive ability. A subsequent warning about possible misinformation slightly reduced rates of false memories but did not eliminate these effects. This study suggests that voters in a real-world political campaign are most susceptible to forming false memories for fake news that aligns with their beliefs, in particular if they have low cognitive ability.

Keywords

False memory , Politics , Fake news , Misinformation , Bias , Open data , Open materials

Citation

Murphy, G., Loftus, E. F., Grady, R. H., Levine, L. J. and Greene, C. M. (2019) 'False Memories for Fake News During Ireland’s Abortion Referendum', Psychological Science, doi: 10.1177/0956797619864887