The Impact of Fact-Checking

Fact-checking during election seasons faces the challenge of effectively changing people's beliefs. Research indicates that in some cases, people with strong preexisting beliefs may entrench themselves further when confronted with corrections, rather than changing their views. The 2010 study by Brendan Nihan and Jason Reifler highlighted this issue, showing that factual corrections often backfire, increasing individuals' certainty in their incorrect beliefs, especially on contentious topics like weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This phenomenon raised concerns among media organizations about the effectiveness of fact-checking efforts, leading to debates on whether some topics should be strategically avoided to prevent worsening misinformation.