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Dec 16 2010

Duh: Fox News makes you less informed

From Page 22 of the University of Maryland's study on misinformation in the 2010 election:

Those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to believe that:

-most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
-most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
-the economy is getting worse (26 points)
-most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
-the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
-their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
-the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
-when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
-and that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

These effects increased incrementally with increasing levels of exposure and all were statistically significant. The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it--though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican.

To be fair, MSNBC viewers were misinformed about the Chamber of Commerce spending foreign money on campaigns (this is highly dubious). I want to print this on a bunch of cards and carry it around with me to give to Fox watchers.