Pioneering research links the increase of misinformation shared by US politicians to a changing public perception of honesty

Press release issued: 25 September 2023

Researchers have unravelled for the first time a fundamental shift in the way American politicians communicate on social media, which helps explain the proliferation of compelling misinformation.

The international study analysed millions of tweets by members of Congress over the last decade. Its findings showed both Republican and Democratic politicians were increasingly sharing their beliefs and opinions as well as evidence-based information. But among Republicans, their expression of honestly-held beliefs and opinions was strongly linked to less trustworthy information sources.

Read the full University of Bristol news item

Paper: Lasser J et al. (2023). From alternative conceptions of honesty to alternative facts in communications by US politicians. Nature Human Behaviour.