12.9.2024 Xiajing Zhu and Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann
Many top Republicans, including Donald Trump and Senators Tim Scott (South Carolina), Marco Rubio (Florida), and Ted Cruz (Texas), refuse to accept the 2020 election results. Many other Republicans falsely assert the 2020 election was rigged and have stated that they stood ready to fight if Trump was not declared the 2024 winner.
In a new Journal of Marketing study, we explain what underlies these Republicans’ thought processes and behaviors and how the majority of news media and social media contribute to this problem.
The Lethal Combination: Polarization and Misinformation
Our team finds that political polarization triggers Republicans, but not Democrats, to spread misinformation that is objectively false. Although Republicans may understand the content is very likely false, they are willing to spread it. We also discover the reason why Republicans respond to political polarization by conveying misinformation, while Democrats do not: Republicans strongly value their party winning over the competition. Democrats do not value winning nearly as strongly; they place more value on equity and inclusion, seeing the world in a fundamentally different way than Republicans.
In other words, whenever there is political polarization—that is, fierce competition between political parties—Republicans feel their backs are against the wall and come out swinging. They are willing to convey misinformation that is likely untrue, but not definitively false, to help their fellow Republicans win and Democrats lose. Democrats are less triggered by political polarization—they do not value their party winning over other values, so they do not respond this way.
We conducted six studies that demonstrate this. Our first study examines fact-checked statements in the news media and on social media by public figures over 10 years (2007–2016). Our second study extends this analysis to 16 years (2007–2022). We find that when there was political polarization in the news cycle, Republicans conveyed significantly more misinformation than Democrats.
We verify our findings in three online studies where we surveyed U.S. adults who identified as either Republican or Democrat. We put these individuals in politically polarized situations—for instance, we showed them Senate Republican and Democratic leaders arguing. We then showed them misinformation from current social media. For example, Republicans saw news such as “Democratic Senators are secretly pro-Russia” and “Democratic Senators are purposely manipulating gas prices,” while Democrats saw news such as “Republican Senators are secretly pro-Russia” and “Republican Senators are purposely manipulating gas prices.” In politically polarized situations, Republicans were significantly more willing to convey misinformation than Democrats to gain an advantage over the opposing party.
Our last study examines the speeches of U.S. presidents over 94 years (1929–2023), spanning the 31st president Herbert Hoover to the 46th president Joseph Biden. We find that in political polarized situations, such as during election periods, Republican presidents talked more about “we” and “us” than Democratic presidents, indicating they were more focused on their own party and partisanship.
To summarize, Republicans react to political polarization by putting out partisan misinformation. This can have a deleterious effect on the state of democratic institutions and processes. For instance, in the year following the 2020 U.S. presidential election and accompanying misinformation about election fraud, 400 restrictive voting bills were introduced in 47 U.S. state legislatures. Additionally, 14 states passed restrictive voting bills that, for instance, shortened the mail-in voting period, eliminated election day registration, and/or reduced ballot drop box access. These changes have decreased voter turnout and engagement, particularly among minority voters. (snip-MORE; it gets more interesting as it goes along, to me)
Notice that while claiming the debt is too high tRump and crew are still trying to make permanent the huge tax cut to the wealthy give during tRump’s first term that added nearly 8 trillion in debt. Plus these people claim there is no money yet always find more for the military, increasing the profit of the defense contractors / companies that not only give them large donations but that the congress people have stocks in. They also never talk of why there is not enough money … the constant push to cut all the government’s revenue from those with the most money, the wealthy and large corporations. The greatest times of property for the public and the country was when taxes were high on the wealthiest people and corporations, why because they have all the money and can afford the tax.
Then Reagan began the shifting the tax burden from those most able to pay to the poorest members of society, those with no ability to pay. Suddenly the country went from a boom in infrastructure and ways to increase financially upward mobility for the middle class to a system of oppression and drudgery for the lower incomes while the upper incomes lived in untold luxury.
The republicans pushing for European countries to pay more for NATO was recently explained on a Sunday news show as the Senator said that by forcing the European governments to pay more for defense it would lower what they would be able to do for social welfare programs for the public. Why do the republicans in the US want the rest of the developed nations to lower the spending on their people? Because the people in the US constantly can see now that other countries can do it, that other countries take care of their public, the people living there. The US gives billions to Israel which has free healthcare, something these same politicians say we can not afford in the US. Profit is king in the US, people are expendable. Hug
“We all agree this is an unsustainable area that we’re in right now — almost $36 trillion in debt and we are spending more on the interest on our debt than we are going to spend on the National Defense Authorization Act this year. Over a trillion dollars.
“And so we’ve got to right the ship and it’s going to mean cuts. It’s going to mean cuts to the 24% of the discretionary spending that we have and it’s also going to mean looking long-term at the front end of some programs like Social Security and Medicare.
“Not taking anyone off of what they paid into so far. But there is some waste, abuse and fraud in Medicare that we can take those numbers back and add to our general coffers and our treasury.
“And on the front end on Social Security, I think there’s a way, when people are living longer, they’re retiring later, then on the front end we can move that retirement age back a little bit.” – GOP Rep. Mark Alford, today on Fox.
Alford appeared here last week when he called for impeaching “full of slime” Biden. Alford, a freshman and former TV reporter, appeared here in December 2023 when he introduced a bill seeking to defund the Pentagon’s investigation into white supremacist service members.
Rep. Mark Alford: "It's gonna mean cuts to the 24 percent of the discretionary spending that we have. And it's also going to mean looking long term at the front end of some programs like Social Security and Medicare … we can move the retirement age back a little bit."
and forcing congress to fund all of the I.O.U.s they put into the social security trust fund when they took money from it to fun the budget instead of raising taxes. A one time surcharge on billionaires should take care of it.
Do Republicans REALLY wanna dance on that third rail, given how they barely control the House already? Y’all wanna test your whole “but we have a mandate” bullshit?
But don’t forget decades ago bothsides of the isle in congress took large amounts of money from the Trust Fund so they didn’t have to raise taxes. It was Gore in 1999 when he was campaigning that he promised to put the Trust Fund in a ‘locked box” to protect it. But , too little, too late.
“But we still need to give millionaires, billionaires, and soon-to-be trillionaires more tax cuts because they need it, and cutting SS and Medicare is how we’ll pay for it.”
This is something that a lot of people get wrong because the US debt is never explained. The US debt is held in bonds which anyone can invest in. Yes, it’s technically borrowing, but it’s borrowing like one lends money when they invest in even a 401k or savings account. That money earns interest. And the money “borrowed” from social security is really that the social security fund is held in interest-bearing bonds. What republicans want to do is cut medicare and social security so they don’t have to make good on those bonds.
How about taking away the pensions, tax benefits, security, and health insurance benefits of retired Congresscritters? They’re typically all wealthy, and are a drain on the budget. Hey, if we are all expected to tighten our belts, these fuckers should lead the way.
The questions went further than just affirming allegiance to the incoming administration. The interviewers asked which candidate the applicants had supported in the three most recent elections, what they thought about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen. The sense they got was that there was only one right answer to each question.
Applicants who said they gave what they intuited to be the wrong answer — either decrying the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 or saying that President Biden won in 2020 – were met with silence and the taking of notes. They didn’t get the jobs.
Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and pro-MAGA podcaster, is among those conducting the loyalty tests, along with members of the personnel team. The more policy-focused interviews have been conducted by members of the transition staff and by potential agency heads, such as Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard.
An important video to watch and try to understand. Sensitive times. I have encrypted mail and encrypted text on both computers. Plus my computers have VPN’s of high quality that do not have any tracking, along with good security programs. I have what I can also on my phone. You might ask why I have such things. I talk to people who have been abused. I also have been abused. All mainstream programs scan such communications with computers, AIs, and they don’t differentiate from this happened to me from I am doing this to a child now. In the past I have known people who had police or other agencies target them thinking they were part of an abuse network when they were only talking to fellow survivors.
Having said that it is going to get worse. We know from Snowden the US government was illegally spying on all texts, calls, and other phone / computer activities of the public, now we must worry about foreign governments doing it also. Please listen to the video and protect yourself. Oh, for clarity I use NordVPN, no possible tracking, and I use Teleguard, Sessions, and Proton mail. Hugs
What he really means in the story below is that many people surging into the work force will depress wages and make workers even more desperate to get and keep a job no matter how bad or low wage it is. Hugs
Megan Kelly who made her fame by writing a book about the sexual harassment / abuse at Fox Is trying to give a boost to a man who paid a woman he sexually abused and harassed. Everything Hegseth is accused or from adultery, sexual assault, and his excesses alcohol problem are all court-martial offenses. He would be in charge of people that if they did what he did they would face demotion, jail time, loss of money, and more. How he can be in that position if republicans really respect and care about the military they wouldn’t even let this guy near the job. Hugs
In the below story notice two things. He is picking Fox entertainment rage TV people to be in his cabinet because he is a media made billionaire personality and he loves the showmanship. That is what made him a great con man and politician is his love of the camera and the attention, he glories in it.
Read the full article. In 2017, Crowley registered as a foreign agent for a pro-Putin Ukrainian billionaire after withdrawing from consideration from a national security post when her book and PhD thesis were hit with accusations of plagiarism. She first appeared here when she spread claims that Barack Obama is secretly Muslim. Crowley is a Project 2025 contributor.
In this post notice the attack on immigrants along with the outright lies about no deaths. Anything for the maga base and the authoritarian fascist government is grand. Why? For me the question is why does the internet troll Marge want to see the tRump proclaimed goals? White supremacy! She is from a deep Georgia community that has long felt that the white people were superior to others. So white people attacked the capital and attempted to destroy democracy so what, they were white. Not those filthy non-white people who keep coming here trying to make our white supremacy culture less supreme. Hugs
The story below shows how desperate the right is to please donors by cutting the domestic spending part of the government. That is the part of the government that helps the people but puts nothing in the pockets of the wealthy. They fail to understand that the main function of the government is to promote the common good and the welfare of the people. From the preamble itself. … (P)romote the general Welfare … That means the government is to help the people. The reason the treasury is so shy of money is that the republicans when in power keep giving more of the general revenue generated in the US to the most wealthy instead of helping the general welfare with such as infrastructure, what the people need, and common defense. Basically so people understand every time the republicans reduce the corporate tax rate, the taxes charged against realtors, the taxes charged against wealthy people, the tax rate of wealthy estates, they are robbing from the US people and public all that money to run the country and help the public. Just like other countries of advanced incomes do. Which is why the republicans demand they stop doing it as it makes the US look bad for being a profit is king country. Hugs
The story below shows how fundamentalist Christians and right wing bigots attack the LGBTQ+ for being different and not following their faith … but at the same time they don’t live up to their own faiths doctrines. Hugs.
Read the full article. Yager first appeared here in 2020 for his successful bill that forces public schools to allow kids to miss class for up to one hour each day in order to attend church. Along with raft of anti-trans legislation, most recently Yager voted for a bill allowing county clerks to refuse to officiate same-sex marriages.
“The plans could mean that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of migrants would be permanently displaced in countries where they do not know any of the people or the language and have no connection to the culture.”
The Diapered Rapist a fucking idiot, who can’t handle a task a 6 year old can manage.
Read the full article. Boyd is now claiming that he was referring to a “bundle of sticks,” telling reporters “look it up in the dictionary.” Video of the exchange is below. Boyd, not incidentally, was named to Trump’s “South Carolina Leadership Team.”
Where are the pro left progressive big money trying to promote progressive ideals? This is why the right so often win, their big money backs them no matter what. Hugs
This is the woman on a crusade against the first trans person in the House of Representative also used to support the trans people. Her entire thing is being the center of attention. That is her entire goal. Hugs.
Read the full article. Roberts, who had threatened violence if Trump did not win, appeared here earlier this week when he called for seizing the endowments of public and private universities if they don’t hew to Trump’s anti-diversity edicts and end the “woke mind virus.”
Just how insecure are these republican people demanding everyone but themselves be Rambo and Chuck Norris in some super action movie. It is a stupid throw back to the religious stereotype of men and women they want to force the country into. The idea that men are always he-man moneymakers and women are all attractive women waiting at home to serve their man after cleaning their home and making their meals all day. Give it up already. The goat herders in the deserts of the Middle East may have felt that way over 2500 years ago but we know better now. Hugs
A man from racist South Africa who feels non-white people don’t have enough authority and black people have too many rights is pushing hard to repopulate the world with his and other wealthy white men’s sperm. Say what? Yes Musk is on record saying that he needs to father as many children as possible to ensure the white race continues. Similar to what Jeffery Epstein felt as he raped multiple young girls. Look these facts up and stop admiring these trust fund wealthy kids of exploiters. Hugs
Another person who takes a job requiring that they serve LGBTQ+ people equally with straight people who think their religious beliefs should exempt them from the rules everyone else in the job must follow. Because you know fundamentalist Christians are special … right? Look if you don’t want to do the job because of your religious beliefs find a different job. Seriously what you believe doesn’t make you special or allow you to violate your job protocols. Just as you can’t refuse to serve black people at the lunch counter or refuse to marry mixed race people, you have to follow the laws in your state. Plus I don’t understand the hate. Christians don’t own marriage. Marriage is not a religious ceremony alone. This is even a civil setting. Plus no church or religious figure can marry anyone legally without state permission. It is a civil right, not a religious one. Hugs
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh issued statements after a Syracuse.com | Post Standard article revealed that City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis refused to officiate a wedding of two women.
The article reported that on Nov. 16 Pitts-Davis declined to marry the couple on the same day she married a heterosexual couple. The judge cited her religious beliefs as the reason she would not perform the marriage, two sources told Syracuse.com.
Another city court judge, Mary Anne Doherty, came into court to officiate the women’s marriage.
Hochul said on X that marriage equality is a fundamental right in New York. She said judges do not get to pick and choose who they will and won’t marry.
“No one should be subject to hate or discrimination simply because of who they love. Any judge willing to officiate a wedding in their courtroom cannot pick and choose who deserves a wedding,” Hochul said in a post on X.
The governor linked to the Syracuse.com article.
Mayor Ben Walsh said Syracuse is a growing city that embraces diversity and creates opportunity for all.
“Judge Pitts-Davis’ refusal to perform a wedding ceremony for a same-sex couple doesn’t align with this vision and, importantly, doesn’t comply with state law,” the mayor said in a statement.
The mayor called on the state Commission on Judicial Conduct to review the matter “expeditiously.”
Onondaga County Democratic Chairperson Max Ruckdeschel said in a statement that the judge’s behavior is contrary to the values of the Democratic Party and that the judge should resign.
“It is the role of every judge to provide equal justice under the law to every American, no matter their race, creed, or sexual orientation,” Ruckdeschel said. “A judge literally turning her back on two people looking to be married is an outrage and Judge Pitts Davis should face repercussions for her actions.”
The Democratic Party committee had previously declined to endorse Pitts Davis for city court judge, according to Ruckdeschel. And her refusing to fulfill her judicial oath “disqualifies her from any future consideration for our endorsement,” he said.
Pitts Davis won a primary to run on the Democratic line in the general election and was elected to office in 2020.
The Syracuse Republican Committee issued a statement Thursday calling for Pitts Davis to resign or be removed.
“Judge Davis’ refusal to perform a same-sex marriage is not only inexcusable and reprehensible, but is ground for immediate removal from the bench,” the statement said. “If Judge Davis has any shred of integrity or respect for the law and the people of the city of Syracuse, she should step down.”
If Pitts Davis doesn’t step down, the state Office of Court Administration should swiftly remove her from the bench “before any further damage can be done to our sacred judicial system,” the statement said.
CNY Pride, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and City Auditor Alexander Marion put out statements Wednesday calling for Pitts Davis to resign.
CNY Pride said her actions were a “disgrace” to her position as an elected judge. They also called for a “full ethical investigation” into Pitts-Davis’ conduct since she took the bench in 2020.
“Judge Pitts Davis’s refusal to marry same-sex citizens of Syracuse and Onondaga County is despicable and contrary to her judicial oath,” CNY Pride said in the statement.
Marion, an LGBTQ+ elected citywide official in Syracuse government, is also calling for Pitts Davis to resign. He put out a statement saying the judge should quit or be suspended by the state Office of Court Administration.
Saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the Syracuse.com article, Marion said Pitts Davis was violating judicial guidelines that guard against discrimination.
State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal also called on Pitts Davis to resign.
“If a judge can’t follow the law and do her job as directed by the New York state constitution and the United States Supreme Court, she should step down,” the senator told the New York Post. “I find it appalling that someone who professes to work on behalf of the public takes a piecemeal approach to their responsibility.”
Davis for nearly two weeks has not responded to repeated inquiries from Syracuse.com.
Under state law, judges may not unlawfully discriminate by officiating a marriage for a male-female couple, but refuse to do the same for a same-sex couple, according to a state court spokesperson, Al Baker.
The state court system is aware of the allegation and referred the matter to a state disciplinary commission, Baker told Syracuse.com.
For nearly two weeks, local and state court officials would not answer questions from Syracuse.com about what happened in court that day. They would not even acknowledge that any weddings happened in court that day.
On Tuesday, Baker responded with a one-sentence email: “We are aware of the allegation and have referred the matter to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.” He again did not respond to questions about that statement.
Earlier, Baker emailed to Syracuse.com the judicial standard Pitts Davis appears to have violated but would not confirm she had refused to marry the same sex couple or that another judge had to step in:
“Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated by the UCS. Under New York Law, Judges are authorized, but not obligated, to perform marriages. Judges who choose to perform marriages may not unlawfully discriminate when deciding which couples they will marry.”
In 2011, the Marriage Equality Act was passed in the state of New York, granting same-sex couples the ability to enter into civil marriages. The act declared that marriage is a fundamental human right. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples.
Shawntay Davis, 33, and Niccora Davis, 29, on Tuesday confirmed to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard they were the same-sex couple ditched by Pitts Davis and instead married by Doherty on Nov. 16.
Shawntay Davis and Niccora Davis are married by Judge Mary Ann Doherty in Syracuse City Court on Nov. 16, 2024. The judge is behind the two women.Provided photograph
Editor’s note: This article updated on Thursday with a statement by the Syracuse Republican Committee.
Staff writer Darian Stevenson covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at dstevenson@syracuse.com
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