“Polarizing Chats? Political Misinformation on Discussion Apps in India and Brazil” (POLARCHARTS) is led by our fellow Simon Chauchard and funded through a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC, 2022-2027).
Misinformation is a growing concern in the Global South. In many developing countries, political actors make extensive use of social media and discussion apps such as WhatsApp to diffuse misinformation. This misinformation has been hypothesized to generate hatred towards targeted social groups, support non-democratic tactics and values, and eventually lead to the election of politicians who rely on this tactic. Yet, in spite of these alarming reports, little systematic knowledge exists about the causes and consequences of this misinformation. It documents the extent of the misinformation crisis in India and Brazil and explores the causes and consequences of exposure to this misinformation. The project relies on qualitative insights, quantitative descriptions and experimental methods to achieve these objectives. Relying on in-depth interviews, the project examines how and why party actors embrace the technology. Second, it relies on a data donation program to quantify misinformation on smartphones. Third, the project develops several types of experimental designs to examine the determinants of individual-level belief in misinformation and the various effects that misinformation has on attitudes and behaviors.
https://pimlab.org/projects/polarchats
