"Fact-Checking Trust Elasticity": How Political Systems Shape Correction Efficacy

Conflicting findings exist: In China, fact-checking increased government support (Xiang & Neo 2024), while in Chile, it reduced media trust (Bachmann & Valenzuela 2023). This research synthesizes these contradictions by proposing "trust elasticity"—the degree to which fact-checking alters institutional trust depends on system-level variables (e.g., media freedom, partisan polarization). We’d conduct experiments in 6 countries (varying regime types) to test how fact-checks targeting government misinformation affect trust in state vs. media institutions. This builds on van Erkel et al.’s (2024) cross-European work but adds regime type as a moderator. The innovation lies in reframing fact-checking not as a neutral tool, but as a political act whose effects are contingent on institutional contexts.

References:

1. Political Fact-checking and Its Effects on Public Attitudes: Experimental Evidence from China. Chen Xiang, Ric Neo (2024). The China Quarterly.
2. Studying the Downstream Effects of Fact-Checking on Social Media: Experiments on Correction Formats, Belief Accuracy, and Media Trust. I. Bachmann, S. Valenzuela (2023). Social Media + Society.
3. When are Fact-Checks Effective? An Experimental Study on the Inclusion of the Misinformation Source and the Source of Fact-Checks in 16 European Countries. Patrick F. A. van Erkel, Peter van Aelst, Claes H. de Vreese, D. Hopmann, J. Matthes, J. Stanyer, Nicoleta Corbu (2024). Mass Communication & Society.