Within Backfire
When Corrections Work But Minds Barely Move
Political corrections can improve factual accuracy while still leaving identity, trust and voting attitudes largely unchanged.
On this page
- What counts as real backfire
- Why belief accuracy and attitudes diverge
- How politics keeps myths alive after correction
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Introduction
Political misinformation is one of the areas where fears about the backfire effect became most influential. The concern was not just that corrections might fail. It was that fact-checks could make people believe false claims even more strongly. Yet much of the evidence accumulated over the past decade points to a different problem. Political corrections often improve factual accuracy, but they do not necessarily change broader political attitudes, partisan loyalties, trust in leaders or voting behaviour. PNAS [OSF Files]files.osf.ioFactual corrections that target misinformation improve belief accuracy. They do so across a wide variety of countries, political…Read…
That distinction matters because a correction that leaves someone’s political identity intact is not the same thing as a correction that backfires. Many apparent examples of “backfire” are better understood as cases where people accepted a factual correction while continuing to support the politician, party or worldview connected to the false claim. The correction worked in a narrow informational sense, but the larger political landscape barely moved.
What Counts as Real Backfire
The strongest versions of the backfire story claim that correcting misinformation can increase belief in the misinformation itself. If a person believes a false claim at a level of 60 out of 100 before correction and 75 afterwards, that would be genuine backfire.
Researchers increasingly distinguish that outcome from several other possibilities:
- A correction reduces belief in the false claim, but only slightly.
- The correction works initially and then fades over time.
- The correction changes factual beliefs but not political preferences.
- The correction improves accuracy, but people continue repeating the myth for social or partisan reasons.
Only the first scenario is true backfire. The others involve limited effectiveness, persistence or motivated political behaviour rather than belief strengthening. [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCThe backfire effect after correcting misinformation is strongly…by B Swire-Thompson · 2022 · Cited by 111 — The backfire effect is… [PNAS]pnas.orgBrendan Nyhan… Reifler, When corrections fail: The persistence of…
This distinction became clearer after large replication efforts struggled to find robust backfire effects. Thomas Wood and Ethan Porter tested dozens of politically contentious issues across more than 10,000 participants and reported no evidence that corrections systematically increased misperceptions. Instead, people generally moved toward greater factual accuracy even when the information challenged their political side. [SSRN]papers.ssrn.comCan citizens heed factual information, even when such information challenges their partisan and ideological attachments?Read more…
The practical implication is important: many political corrections fail to produce dramatic persuasion, but that is different from making misinformation stronger.
Why Belief Accuracy and Attitudes Diverge
One reason correction research often looks disappointing is that factual beliefs and political attitudes are not the same thing.
People can update a specific belief while leaving broader loyalties untouched. A voter might accept that a politician made a false statement yet continue supporting that politician because of economic policy, cultural identity, party loyalty or dislike of the alternative. In that situation, factual correction succeeds but political preference remains stable.
Research on political misinformation repeatedly finds evidence for this separation. Studies show that corrections can improve factual accuracy while producing little change in candidate evaluations, ideological attitudes or broader partisan commitments. [University of Exeter Research Repository]ore.exeter.ac.ukThe Effects…April 29, 2019 — by B Nyhan · 2019 · Cited by 576 — Nyhan and Reifler (2010) find that corrective information in mock news… [Annual Reviews]annualreviews.organnurev polisci 050718 032814Annual ReviewsPolitical Misinformationby J Jerit · 2020 · Cited by 396 — Perhaps as a re- sult, there are instances in which false belief…
This can look like resistance to facts when viewed from outside. A journalist may reveal that a claim was false, yet polling numbers barely move. Observers then conclude that fact-checking failed. But from a measurement perspective, two different outcomes are being combined:
- Did people become more accurate about the claim?
- Did people change their political preferences?
The answer is often yes to the first question and no to the second.
Political Identity Is Not Built From One Fact
Political identities are usually constructed from networks of values, group loyalties, emotions and social relationships rather than isolated factual beliefs.
As a result, correcting one claim rarely dismantles the larger identity structure supporting a political position. Someone may concede that a rumour about immigration, climate policy or election administration was inaccurate while still viewing the opposing political camp as threatening or untrustworthy.
This helps explain why political attitudes often appear remarkably stable even when factual beliefs shift. The correction modifies one piece of information but leaves the underlying identity framework largely intact. [Dartmouth Sites]sites.dartmouth.eduDartmouth SitesFacts and Myths about Misperceptions | Brendan Nyhanby B Nyhan · Cited by 320 — Political misinformation often originates…
How Politics Keeps Myths Alive After Correction
Another reason corrections can appear ineffective is that political misinformation is often continuously reinforced.
Brendan Nyhan has argued that the durability of political misperceptions is better explained by repeated elite cues, partisan media environments and ongoing exposure than by classic backfire effects. Even when a correction succeeds, later messages may reintroduce the myth or surround it with sympathetic framing. PNAS PubMed A voter might encounter: [carnegieendowment.org]carnegieendowment.orgcountering disinformation effectively an evidence based policy guideCountering Disinformation Effectively: An Evidence-Based…31 Jan 2024 — A high-level, evidence-informed guide to some of the major prop…
- One fact-check correcting a false claim.
- Dozens of political speeches repeating it.
- Social media posts reinforcing it.
- Commentators suggesting the correction itself is biased.
Under those conditions, misinformation can remain influential without any need for a psychological backfire mechanism. The correction is simply outnumbered.
Research reviews increasingly point toward this explanation. Political misinformation often originates with political elites and is sustained through repeated circulation by parties, activists and media outlets. The problem is not necessarily that corrections strengthen false beliefs; it is that corrections compete against a much larger information system. Dartmouth Sites [Carnegie Endowment]carnegieendowment.orgcountering disinformation effectively an evidence based policy guideCountering Disinformation Effectively: An Evidence-Based…31 Jan 2024 — A high-level, evidence-informed guide to some of the major prop…
Trust Can Matter More Than Accuracy
Political communication also depends heavily on trust.
A person may accept that a particular factual statement was inaccurate while still distrusting the institution delivering the correction. That creates a situation where factual accuracy improves but broader political attitudes remain unchanged.
For example, some studies find that people respond differently depending on who issues a correction. Corrections from ideologically compatible or trusted sources can sometimes be more persuasive than identical information delivered by institutions viewed as hostile. [Wikipedia]WikipediaSource details in endnotes. [2arXiv]arxiv.orgSource details in endnotes.
Again, this is not backfire in the strict sense. It is a question of source credibility and political trust.
When Corrections Change Facts but Not Behaviour
One of the most misunderstood findings in political communication is that knowledge gains do not automatically produce behavioural change.
People often assume a simple chain:
False belief → correction → changed opinion → changed vote.
In reality, each step can break apart.
Research on fact-checking has repeatedly found cases where individuals become more accurate about political facts without substantially changing candidate favourability or political support. A voter may learn that a campaign advertisement was misleading and still prefer the same candidate because other considerations outweigh the factual issue. [University of Exeter Research Repository]ore.exeter.ac.ukThe Effects…April 29, 2019 — by B Nyhan · 2019 · Cited by 576 — Nyhan and Reifler (2010) find that corrective information in mock news…
A notable example comes from studies of election campaigns and populist political messaging. Fact-checks frequently reduce belief in specific false claims, yet supporters often maintain their overall evaluations of the political figure involved. The factual correction succeeds, but the behavioural consequences are limited. [Wikipedia]WikipediaSource details in endnotes.
This pattern can be frustrating for fact-checkers because public expectations are often unrealistic. Correcting a false claim is fundamentally an informational intervention. It is not necessarily a mechanism for changing identity, ideology or partisan allegiance.
Why the Myth of Correction Failure Persists
The belief that political corrections do not work survives partly because people often judge success by the wrong standard.
If the expectation is complete depolarisation, broad attitude change or dramatic electoral shifts, most corrections will appear disappointing. Political identities are too deeply rooted for a single fact-check to transform them.
But if the standard is narrower—whether people become more accurate about a specific factual claim—the evidence is considerably more positive. Large-scale studies and reviews generally find that corrections move beliefs in the right direction, even among politically committed audiences. [SSRN]papers.ssrn.comCan citizens heed factual information, even when such information challenges their partisan and ideological attachments?Read more… [OSF]files.osf.ioFactual corrections that target misinformation improve belief accuracy. They do so across a wide variety of countries, political…Read…
The result is a persistent misunderstanding. Observers see unchanged political attitudes and conclude that the correction failed. Researchers measuring factual beliefs often see a different story: the correction worked, just not in the sweeping way people hoped.
That gap between factual learning and political commitment helps explain why fears of widespread backfire have weakened while concerns about misinformation remain. The central challenge is often not that corrections make people believe myths more strongly. It is that politics gives people many reasons to keep their identities, loyalties and preferences even after the facts become clearer. PNAS [Annual Reviews]annualreviews.organnurev polisci 050718 032814Annual ReviewsPolitical Misinformationby J Jerit · 2020 · Cited by 396 — Perhaps as a re- sult, there are instances in which false belief…
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Further Reading
Books and field guides related to When Corrections Work But Minds Barely Move. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
The Righteous Mind
Helps explain why political identities often remain stable despite factual corrections.
Post-truth
First published 2018. Subjects: Politics and government, In mass media, Public opinion, Mass media, Truth.
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Endnotes
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Source: pnas.org
Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1912440117Source snippet
Brendan Nyhan... Reifler, When corrections fail: The persistence of...
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Source: files.osf.io
Link: https://files.osf.io/v1/resources/svbru_v1/providers/osfstorage/6536f8e013d27b0fcb94cf9b?action=download&direct=&version=1Source snippet
Factual corrections that target misinformation improve belief accuracy. They do so across a wide variety of countries, political...Read...
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Source: papers.ssrn.com
Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2819073Source snippet
Can citizens heed factual information, even when such information challenges their partisan and ideological attachments?Read more...
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Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9283209/Source snippet
PMCThe backfire effect after correcting misinformation is strongly...by B Swire-Thompson · 2022 · Cited by 111 — The backfire effect is...
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Source: sites.dartmouth.edu
Link: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/nyhan/files/2021/03/jep.pdfSource snippet
Dartmouth SitesFacts and Myths about Misperceptions | Brendan Nyhanby B Nyhan · Cited by 320 — Political misinformation often originates...
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Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fact-checking -
Source: arxiv.org
Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.08048 -
Source: pnas.org
Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2122069119Source snippet
Time and skeptical opinion content erode the effects of...by B Nyhan · 2022 · Cited by 57 — Our results indicate that science coverage o...
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Source: ore.exeter.ac.uk
Link: https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Taking_Fact-Checks_Literally_But_Not_Seriously_The_Effects_of_Journalistic_Fact-Checking_on_Factual_Beliefs_and_Candidate_Favorability/29753936/1/files/56778089.pdfSource snippet
The Effects...April 29, 2019 — by B Nyhan · 2019 · Cited by 576 — Nyhan and Reifler (2010) find that corrective information in mock news...
Published: April 29, 2019
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Source: annualreviews.org
Title: annurev polisci 050718 032814
Link: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050718-032814?crawler=true&mimetype=application%2FpdfSource snippet
Annual ReviewsPolitical Misinformationby J Jerit · 2020 · Cited by 396 — Perhaps as a re- sult, there are instances in which false belief...
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Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33837144/Source snippet
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Apr 13;118(15):e1912440117...
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Source: carnegieendowment.org
Title: countering disinformation effectively an evidence based policy guide
Link: https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/research/2024/01/countering-disinformation-effectively-an-evidence-based-policy-guideSource snippet
Countering Disinformation Effectively: An Evidence-Based...31 Jan 2024 — A high-level, evidence-informed guide to some of the major prop...
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Source: scholar.google.com.py
Title: google.com.py Brendan Nyhan
Link: https://scholar.google.com.py/citations?hl=es&user=SbAA1v4AAAAJSource snippet
Nyhan - Google AcadémicoWhen corrections fail: The persistence of political misperceptions. B Nyhan... How do social media feed algorith...
Additional References
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Source: semanticscholar.org
Link: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Why-the-backfire-effect-does-not-explain-the-of-Nyhan/ff9b7e09122bb1e9e2b340239405f5ace64de17dSource snippet
Why the backfire effect does not explain the durability of...The research that is reviewed suggests that the accuracy-increasing effects...
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Source: emc-lab.org
Link: https://www.emc-lab.org/uploads/1/1/3/6/113627673/swire.2019.polpsych.pdf -
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7934973/Source snippet
of political misinformation: no evidence for an...by UKH Ecker · 2021 · Cited by 44 — Misinformation often has a continuing effect on pe...
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Source: issuelab.org
Link: https://www.issuelab.org/resources/15316/15316.pdfSource snippet
Misinformation and Fact-checking:by B Nyhan · 2012 · Cited by 14 — * Brendan Nyhan (nyhan@dartmouth.edu) is an Assistant Professor in the...
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Source: discovery.ucl.ac.uk
Title: UCL Discovery Belief updating in the face of misinformation
Link: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10206076/2/Sanna_1-s2.0-S0010027725000307-main.pdfSource snippet
UCL DiscoveryBelief updating in the face of misinformation - UCL Discoveryby GA Sanna · 2025 · Cited by 14 — This paper investigates the...
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Source: gwern.net
Link: https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/cognitive-bias/2018-wood.pdfSource snippet
rrected issues, we staged five separate studies comprised of 52 commonly.Read more...
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Source: research-information.bris.ac.uk
Title: bris.ac.uk Lewandowsky, S., & Van Der Linden, S
Link: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/263813879/FINAL_Revision_ERSP_inoc_paper_4SvdL.pdfSource snippet
(2021). Counteringby S Lewandowsky · 2021 · Cited by 1108 — Taking fact-checks literally but not seriously? The effects of journalistic f...
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Source: eprints.soton.ac.uk
Title: We also document several instances of a “
Link: https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/500567/Source snippet
corrections fail: the persistence of political misperceptionsby B Nyhan · 2010 · Cited by 4638 — Results indicate that corrections freque...
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Source: openscholarship.wustl.edu
Link: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/context/art_sci_etds/article/4581/viewcontent/1110493.pdfSource snippet
Evaluations, Misinformation Corrections, and Racial...by D Lockett · 2024 · Cited by 2 — Hypothesis 1: Corrective comments will reduce m...
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Source: tandfonline.com
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10584609.2026.2623049Source snippet
Full article: Do Beliefs Echo? On the Persistent Effects of...by J Fenger · 2026 — ABSTRACT. Does misinformation continue to influence p...
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