The Politics of Truth in Polarized America

David C. Barker is Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, where he co-founded the Program on Legislative Negotiation. He has written extensively on the subjects of American public opinion, electoral behavior, political psychology, political parties, and political governance, including three books: Rushed to Judgment (2002; Columbia University Press), Representing Red and Blue (with Christopher Jan Carman; 2012; Oxford University Press), and One Nation, Two Realities (with Morgan Marietta; 2019; Oxford University Press). His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and many others.Elizabeth Suhay is Associate Professor of Government at American University. Her research on public opinion, political psychology, and political communication has appeared in The American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Political Behavior, among many other peer-reviewed outlets, and it has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Russell Sage Foundation. She is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion (with Bernard Grofman and Alexander Trechsel) and the "The Politics of Science" in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (with James Druckman).

• Introduction The Politics of Truth in Polarized America: Contexts, Concepts, Causes, and Correctives.Elizabeth Suhay, David C. Barker, and Ryan DeTamble Part I: Context & Concepts 1. Neither Dogmatism Nor Relativism: Lessons from the Politics of Truth in Western Philosophy Alan Levine 2. Lies, Damn Lies, and DemocracyRobert Shapiro 3. The Social Function of News and (Mis)Information UseBenjamin Toff 4. The Expressive Value of Answering Survey Questions Matthew H. Graham and Gregory A. Huber 5. American Hubris: The Politics of Unwarranted Epistemic Certitude in the United StatesDavid C. Barker, Morgan Marietta, and Ryan DeTamble Part II: Causes 6. The Psychology of Groups and the Politics of MisinformationMichael Bang Petersen, Mathias Osmundsen, and John Tooby 7. Political Sub-Groups, Knowledge, and Information: Gun Issues and Gun OwnershipDonald Haider-Markel, Abigail Vegter, and Patrick Gauding 8. Value Projection and the Marketplace of RealitiesDavid C. Barker and Morgan Marietta 9. Conspiracy Theories and Political Identities Adam Enders and Joseph Uscinski 10. Conspiracy Stress or Relief? Learned Helplessness and Conspiratorial ThinkingChristina E. Farhart, Joanne M. Miller, and Kyle L. Saunders Part III: Correctives 11. Opinion Formation in Light of the Facts: How Correcting Mistaken Beliefs about Income Inequality Affects Public Support for RedistributionCheryl Boudreau and Scott A. MacKenzie 12. Can Facts Change Minds? The Case of Free TradeEthan Porter and Thomas Wood 13. Do Facts Change Public Attitudes toward Fiscal Policy?John Sides 14. Authoritarianism, Fact-Checking, and Citizens' Response to Presidential Election Information Amanda Wintersieck 15. Combatting the Anti-Muslim Rhetoric of the 2016 Presidential Campaign: An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Corrective NewsKim Fridkin and Jilian Courey 16. Citizen Deliberation as a Correction: The Role of Deliberative Mini-Publics in Addressing Political MisperceptionsJustin Reedy, Chris Anderson and Paole Conte 17. Intuitive Politics and Why Thinking Isn't Guaranteed to Save UsKevin Arceneaux and Ryan J. Vander Wielen