The (mis)informed citizen

Though concerns about the use of misinformation are certainly not new, the reach, speed and volume of misinformation in the digital era have generated a heightened sense of urgency among policymakers, scholars and the public alike. At the same time, relatively little is known about how such information is processed by people online – where much of it is encountered incidentally by citizens who are otherwise inattentive to public affairs – nor about its lasting effects on those who encounter it. This project therefore aims to develop a better understanding of the extent and impact of both quality and false, or misleading, information in online political news.