Misinformation technology: Internet use and political misperceptions in Africa.
The use of the Internet to access news has an impact on African citizens' perceptions of democracy. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the Afrobarometer survey across 35 African countries over the period 2011–2018, along with an instrumental variable approach, allows addressing potential endog...
| Published in: | Journal of Comparative Economics Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 400 - 434 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Academic Press Inc.
Jun2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=177455459&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 177455459 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 01475967 JCE jtl: Journal of Comparative Economics issn: 01475967 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2024 vid: 52 iid: 2 pid: 735 pub: Academic Press Inc. artinfo: ui: 177455459 10.1016/j.jce.2024.01.002 ppf: 400 ppct: 34 formats: tig: atl: Misinformation technology: Internet use and political misperceptions in Africa. aug: au: Cariolle, Joël Elkhateeb, Yasmine Maurel, Mathilde affil: Fondation pour les études et recherches sur le développement international (FERDI), Clermont-Ferrand, France University Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, CERDI, Clermont-Ferrand, France Centre d'Économie de la Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt CNRS, Paris, France su: Africa Internet Internet access Citizens Political parties Political trust (in government) sug: subj: Internet Internet access Citizens Political parties Africa Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Wired Telecommunications Carriers Political Organizations Political trust (in government) keyword: Democracy Internet news Misinformation Democracy Internet news Misinformation ab: The use of the Internet to access news has an impact on African citizens' perceptions of democracy. Using repeated cross-sectional data from the Afrobarometer survey across 35 African countries over the period 2011–2018, along with an instrumental variable approach, allows addressing potential endogeneity bias between Internet use and citizens' perceptions. The results indicate that using the Internet to obtain information has a significant negative effect on both the preference for and the perception of the extent of democracy. This negative effect is due to several factors. First, Internet use erodes trust in government institutions, mainly in the parliament and the ruling party. It increases the perception that parliament members are involved in corruption. In addition, the erosion of trust is correlated with more political mobilization, in the form of greater participation in demonstrations and voting. These results echo the existing literature and, in particular, hint at the risks of reversal of nascent democratization processes. Finally, the Internet seems to act as a misinformation channel. On the one hand, Internet users' perception of the extent of democracy and perception of the corruption of legislators diverge from experts' assessments. On the other hand, Internet use increases the likelihood of inconsistency in respondents' stances on their preference for democracy. The Internet is not a neutral information channel: it tends to undermine citizens' preference for democracy while also altering perceptions about political institutions. • Internet use negatively affects Africans' preference for and perception of democracy. • Internet use reduces trust in government institutions and increases perception of corruption. • Internet use leads to greater participation in demonstrations and voting. • The Internet serves as a potential channel for misinformation. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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