Blinded by Partisanship? The Limitations of Fact-Checkers in Correcting Misinformation During the 2021 Georgia Senate Runoff Elections

Abstract

In recent years, partisan polarization has intensified, and social media has amplified the spread of inaccurate information. As misinformation circulates more widely, non-partisan fact-checkers play a crucial role in improving public knowledge. However, their efforts often compete with sources that may undermine attempts to correct misinformation. In polarized political environments, elites and partisan media frequently promote narratives that conflict with fact-checkers’ conclusions. To understand this dynamic better, we present new findings from an experiment on the voting public during the most high-profile congressional election of the 2020 cycle: the Georgia Senate runoff elections. Our experiment exposed subjects to a series of statements about the runoff candidates that non-partisan fact-checkers rated as false or mostly false. We test whether a false rating from a non-partisan fact-checking organization changes participants’ beliefs about the statements. Additionally, we examine the extent to which people trust these organizations to cover politics fairly. Our findings show that partisan biases prevented fact-checking efforts from changing perceptions of misinformation. Party identification also influenced participants’ trust in fact-checkers. These results highlight the obstacles fact-checkers face in correcting misinformation and raise important normative concerns for the future of American democracy.