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Study: Fox News viewers are prone to believing rumours
File this under 'things we already knew'. or 'See this everyday on DP'.
Those who rely on Fox News are more inclined to believe rumours, a study looking at the behavioral patterns of viewers of reports pertaining to the Ground Zero mosque in has concluded.
According to the study, a typical viewer who reported a low reliance on Fox News believed 0.9 rumors on average, while a similar respondent with a high reliance on Fox believed 1.5 rumors – an increase of 66 percent. On the contrary, people who relied heavily on CNN or NPR believed fewer false rumors. High reliance on CNN reduced the number of rumors believed by 23 percent, while heavy use of NPR reduced belief by 25 percent.
Researchers from the Ohio State University found that those who believe false rumors about the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York City not quite likely to oppose that project. They surveyed 750 Americans based on four rumours listed as false by FactCheck.org, run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, or PolitiFact, the Pulitzer-prize winning service of the St. Petersburg Times.
The researchers found that among those who believed none of the four rumors, two-thirds were opposed to the proposed project. But this percentage increased to 82 percent for those who believed three or more rumors.
File this under 'things we already knew'. or 'See this everyday on DP'.