Partisan news users in the United States and India on either side seldom use fact checkers.
Fact checkers have low reach, and their limited efficacy is often attributed to perceived partisanship. Yet little research exists investigating the reach of or engagement with fact checkers among their intended audiences. We argue that given their small audience size, fact checkers' usage is likely...
| Published in: | Journal of Communication Vol. 76; no. 3; pp. 236 - 248 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Jun2026
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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=194431760&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 194431760 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00219916 JCO jtl: Journal of Communication issn: 00219916 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 76 iid: 3 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 194431760 10.1093/joc/jqaf018 ppf: 236 ppct: 12 formats: tig: atl: Partisan news users in the United States and India on either side seldom use fact checkers. aug: au: Ray, Rik Bhalla, Sakshi Taneja, Harsh affil: Institute of Communications Research, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States su: Twitter (Web resource) Misinformation Partisanship Social media Fact checking Fact checking in politics News audiences News consumption sug: subj: Misinformation Partisanship Social media Fact checking Fact checking in politics News audiences News consumption Twitter (Web resource) keyword: audiences copyrightHolder:International Communication Association copyrightYear:2026 double jeopardy fact checkers heavy media users India inLanguage:en misinformation news consumption partisan media publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf018 social media audiences copyrightHolder:International Communication Association copyrightYear:2026 double jeopardy fact checkers heavy media users India inLanguage:en misinformation news consumption partisan media publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf018 social media ab: Fact checkers have low reach, and their limited efficacy is often attributed to perceived partisanship. Yet little research exists investigating the reach of or engagement with fact checkers among their intended audiences. We argue that given their small audience size, fact checkers' usage is likely driven by heavy media users regardless of their partisan leanings. We examined a slice of Twitter (X) users, following certain partisan and fact checking outlets from India and the United States. Our analysis of over 7 million news users suggests that exposure to and engagement with fact checkers remains largely restricted to heavier users, with little evidence that these interventions penetrate among selectively partisan news audiences. This study is thus among the first to highlight complementary explanations for the limited efficacy of fact checkers beyond the partisan inclinations of either audiences or news outlets. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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