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Type | Journal Article |
Scope | Discipline-based scholarship |
Title | Opinions as facts |
Organization Unit | |
Authors |
|
Item Subtype | Original Work |
Refereed | Yes |
Status | Published in final form |
Language |
|
Journal Title | Review of Economic Studies |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Geographical Reach | international |
ISSN | 0034-6527 |
Volume | 90 |
Number | 4 |
Page Range | 1832 - 1864 |
Date | 2023 |
Abstract Text | The rise of opinion programs has transformed television news. Because they present anchors’ subjective commentary and analysis, opinion programs often convey conflicting narratives about reality. We experimentally document that people across the ideological spectrum turn to opinion programs over “straight news”, even when provided large incentives to learn objective facts. We then examine the consequences of diverging narratives between opinion programs in a high-stakes setting: the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. We find stark differences in the adoption of preventative behaviours among viewers of the two most popular opinion programs, both on the same network, which adopted opposing narratives about the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We then show that areas with greater relative viewership of the program downplaying the threat experienced a greater number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our evidence suggests that opinion programs may distort important beliefs and behaviours. |
Digital Object Identifier | 10.1093/restud/rdac065 |
Other Identification Number | merlin-id:23293 |
PDF File | Download from ZORA |
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Keywords | Economics and econometrics, opinion programs, media, narratives |
Additional Information | This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in the Review of Economic Studies following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at: 10.1093/restud/rdac065 |