Political Bad Faith: When Misinformation is the Point

This article was co-authored by Allison Swimmer, Matilde Tinazzi Martini, Ilina Mitra, and Jose Villalobos Gonzalez. All are first year MPP candidates at University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy.

From unfounded theories about homeopathic COVID-19 remedies to baseless claims regarding herd immunity, manipulated information is sweeping across the world faster than the COVID-19 pandemic itself. Yet, this spread of misinformation is neither new nor localized. Anti-vaccine protests in the United States, anti-immigrant attitudes in Europe, Eurosceptic views in the United Kingdom, pro-One China sentiments  – all are founded on false or distorted narratives, and many began before the proliferation of social media. Consider the anti-vaccine movement, which despite gaining prominence from the COVID-19 pandemic, long predates the current crisis. Anti-vaccine campaigns aim to skew dissenting comments into marketing opportunities to sway public opinion and gain political traction in anti-vaccine activists’ favor. In 2020, several vaccine deniers rallied support behind Republican candidates who touted freedom as a central message of their campaigns, using their political capital to spread the opponents’ disinformed messages to both of their benefits. Such opponents also banded together with anti-mask groups to support a Republican-sponsored bill that aimed to limit quarantine orders. By throwing support behind political leaders, anti-vaccine groups were able to further their agendas thanks to candidates’ political capital.

This dynamic represents the much larger problem of information manipulation corrupting public trust. While the prevalence of technology and partisan governments aid in perpetuating the spread of manipulated information, it is the actions of powerful political actors that enable this entire phenomenon.  In the United States, the spread of fake news is almost never initiated by politicians, but rather is perpetuated by some of them to control the political narrative and seize political opportunity. A key tenet of a well-functioning democracy is an informed electorate; however, voters do not always have complete information on candidates’ performances and aptitudes. As such, it is the responsibility of the voters to independently educate themselves ahead of elections. Not only are Americans increasingly turning to social media to get their political news, but many also admit to being inflexible in the news they consume. According to the Knight Foundation, one in four people surveyed openly admit to getting news from only one perspective, leaving them vulnerable to bias and misinformation (the actual number might be much higher due to response bias). Politicians may know and exploit this fact, keying in on false information shared by both citizens and bots to create a stronger platform, validating fringe rhetoric and making it mainstream.

Politicians manipulating information is not unique to democracies but is an issue in most forms of government. In China, for example, the manipulation of information and the government’s involvement is even more explicit. The 50c party in China is a group of commentators hired by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to manipulate public opinion and disseminate misinformation. China perceives internal uprisings as its most serious national security challenge. They leverage typical autocratic techniques, such as reducing access and slowing down the spread of dissenting views or information through censorship. The Great Firewall of China, a mix of legislation and technologies to regulate Chinese internet, allows the CCP to control all information.

In the United States there are institutional guardrails, and in China, an iron fist. As the CCP restricts access to more social media and news platforms, people are becoming more motivated to circumvent those firewalls. While the original purpose of this behavior is just to continue enjoying content, unrestricted media access has exposed people to information critical of the CCP and promoted political awareness and participation.

It would be disingenuous to say that misinformation remains the sole purview of governments and political parties: private firms have historically spread misinformation at large rates to protect their profit margins, ‘activists’ have spread their own misinformation, and political failures, worsened by poor communication and limited transparency, have led to disenfranchisement and distrust. Yet, given the differences between the United States’ and China’s political, social, and economic systems, the common denominator of both politicians’ manipulation of information and the socially detrimental ramifications of these activities suggest political actors are in fact the key drivers of this perpetuation of manipulated information.

While some might see information manipulation as inevitable in the age of social media, it has dangerous ramifications for American public life. Consider the harmful messaging Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene spread regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, in which she argued against the work of health professionals and drew comparisons to the horrific treatment of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Studies have shown that an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment on social media decreases the public’s desire to get inoculated. Former President Trump’s lies about election fraud resulted in violence and multiple people losing their lives on January 6, 2021. These cases, along with other forms of flawed rhetoric such as climate denial and birtherism, have entered mainstream political discourse and left a lasting societal impact that politicians seem unable to control beyond their manipulation.

Given the critical and global nature of this issue, it is imperative that policymakers and society at large take action and hold politicians accountable for bad-faith efforts and work towards strengthening institutions. Rebuilding trust in government and civil institutions among citizenry would build immunity against the allure of disinformation by allowing for neutral arbiters even with the proliferation of digital platforms. American politicians must also ensure they are serving their constituents without catering to misinformed narratives. Incentivizing voters to become more informed and diversify their media consumption, creating legal frameworks that better address private companies’ data use and management, and starting discussions on how to execute content regulation across different platforms could prove effective. Individuals should hold their representatives accountable, while policymakers and government relations representatives need to dedicate themselves to addressing this issue in a responsible manner.